Pristina, Kosovo, July 30, 2020 —IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has established a €10 million risk-sharing facility with TEB Sh.A., one of Kosovo’s largest banks, to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in particular women-owned SMEs and those operating in agribusiness sector.
The facility has been provided under IFC’s Small Loan Guarantee Program (SLGP), a programmatic approach to risk-sharing that aims to strengthen the capacity of financial institutions to finance SMEs in low-income countries. SLGP uses a pooled first-loss structure provided by International Development Association’s (IDA) Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility. In addition, the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) is providing performance-based incentives up to $281,000 to support lending by TEB Sh.A. to women-owned SMEs.
While SMEs dominate the economic landscape in Kosovo, over 50 percent of firms in Kosovo cited access to finance as a major or severe constraint to growth, according to the World Bank Enterprise Survey. An IFC study indicates that 42 percent of women SMEs are financially constrained, and the gender gap is significantly higher than the average gender gap in other IDA-eligible countries.
“ TEB will continue to offer solutions and finance to SMEs, aimed at encouraging their dynamism and new ideas,” said Dren Krypa, TEB’s deputy managing director. “This partnership with IFC in risk-sharing is a valuable tool to support the growing SME sector in Kosovo, especially for women entrepreneurs.”
According to the World Bank, only 5.3 percent of SMEs in Kosovo are majority-owned by women and another 4.8 percent have some female ownership. TEB is the only bank in Kosovo that offers tailored financing to women-owned SMEs.
“We are glad to expand our partnership with TEB Sh.A. and support the bank’s lending to SMEs, enabling entrepreneurs to sustain and grow operations. This is especially important in the current extraordinary times as the businesses have been disrupted by the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Vittorio Di Bello, Regional Industry Head in Europe and Central Asia for IFC’s Financial Institutions Group. “IFC expects that this risk-sharing facility will help preserve and create new jobs and demonstrate to the market that lending to women-owned SMEs and agri-SMEs is commercially viable.”
About IFC
IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2019, we invested more than $19 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org .
About TEB Bank
TEB Sh.A. is a BNP Paribas joint venture operating in Kosovo since 2009. It is a leader in the card business and has strong portfolios in the retail and SME sectors. The bank has 29 branches across the country. Our vision is to be the best customer-experience bank in Kosovo, to constantly create outstanding value for our customers, shareholders, employees, and society. For more information, visit www.teb-kos.com .
About the IDA Private Sector Window
As part of the record $75 billion IDA18 replenishment, the World Bank Group created the $2.5 billion IDA Private Sector Window to catalyze private sector investment in the poorest and most fragile countries. Recognizing the key role of the private sector in achieving IDA18 objectives and the Sustainable Development Goals, the window provides concessional funds for co-investment alongside IFC and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) private investments. Concessional funds help to mitigate risk and reduce barriers, which unlocks and crowds in private investment in emerging markets. For more information, visit https://ida.worldbank.org/psw .
About We-Fi
The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) is a collaborative partnership among fourteen governments and eight multilateral development banks. Housed in the World Bank Group, We-Fi seeks to unlock billions of dollars in financing to tackle the full range of barriers facing women entrepreneurs—increasing access to finance, markets, technology, and mentoring, while strengthening policy, and legal and regulatory frameworks. As one of the We-Fi implementing partners, IFC supports private sector clients with investments and advisory services to expand financial services and market access for women-owned/led firms, as well as increasing the capacity of women entrepreneurs to run high-growth businesses. For more information, visit we-fi.org .
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In Istanbul: Tolga Sobaci +90 530 041 4731 tsobaci@ifc.org
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