BankingBrief
EBRD lends TEB Kosovo up to €21 million through four credit lines
Four lines fund energy-efficient homes, green and digital investment by small firms and women-led businesses, with EU grants and risk cover alongside.
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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending up to €21 million to TEB Kosovo to finance green, digital and women-led business loans in Kosovo through four credit lines, the bank said on 29 October.
The largest line, €6 million, runs through the Western Balkans Green Economy Financing Facility, for households investing in more energy-efficient homes and for energy efficiency and renewable energy in the public sector. Three lines of €5 million each complete the package. The SME Go Green line funds energy and resource efficiency and renewable energy at micro, small and medium-sized firms, with at least 33 per cent of the investments expected in the agribusiness value chain and 25 per cent of the firms expected to be women-led. The Go Digital in the Western Balkans line funds automation and digitalisation, with at least 60 per cent going to automation and digitalisation projects and at least 60 per cent supporting the green economy. The Western Balkans Women in Business line lends to women-led firms.
The European Union adds grants and technical assistance for the green and digital loans through the Western Balkans Investment Framework, and supports the Women in Business line through the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus, with capacity building and first-loss risk cover, the EBRD said. The Japan-EBRD Cooperation Fund pays for further technical assistance under the green facility.
TEB Kosovo, set up in 2007, is a subsidiary of TEB Holding, a joint venture between BNP Paribas and the Çolakoğlu Group, and focuses on retail and small business lending. The EBRD said it had invested almost €990 million in Kosovo through 152 projects, most of it in the private sector. Its Kosovo country page shows a lower count of 151 projects, along with 79 active operations and a current portfolio of €506m.
“Access to finance is critical for businesses looking to invest, modernise and grow,” said Sergiy Maslichenko, the EBRD's head of Kosovo. Cihan Yilmaz, managing director of TEB, said the package would help to reduce energy costs and let businesses invest in green and digital transformation.
The loan is the latest in a series of EBRD credit lines and guarantees for Western Balkan lenders and borrowers this autumn, after a €35 million risk-sharing facility for Raiffeisen Bank Serbia and a €15 million loan to a Bosnian car parts maker.