- IFC provides €5 million to Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo L.L.C.
- Proceeds of the loan will be used to support climate projects and women-owned MSMEs
Vienna, Austria, October 4, 2023—Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and individuals in Kosovo, especially women-owned firms, will have increased access to finance, with IFC announcing a loan of up to €5 million to Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo L.L.C. The aim is to boost competitiveness in the MSME finance market and create jobs, while also supporting the country's green transition.
The loan to Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo—IFC`s first engagement with this largest leasing company in Kosovo, will allow the company to diversify its funding and increase lending to key segments, expanding climate and gender lending in the country. IFC's engagement will also highlight the viability of lending to underserved MSMEs, helping the company raise additional financing.
"We at Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo are delighted to sign the first funding contract with IFC. With this funding we look forward to adding value to our leasing clients who seek financing for their business needs. We are positive that this experience with IFC will pave the road for further and bigger cooperation in the future," said Gjon Gjonlleshaj, Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo`s Executive Director.
Fifty percent of the loan will be from IFC's own account and 50 percent from the International Development Association's Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility. Proceeds of the loan will be used for on-lending as leases to MSMEs and individuals in Kosovo, with the women-owned MSMEs being supported by Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) and Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility (WEOF). In partnership with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative, WEOF is a first-of-its-kind facility dedicated to expanding access to capital for women entrepreneurs globally.
While MSMEs account for 99 percent of businesses in Kosovo, the financing gap is significant at around 10 percent of GDP. Women who own small businesses are even more credit constrained than their male counterparts. The employment rate for women stands at just 14 percent of the total employment it the country, while female entrepreneurs constitute only 7 percent of SMEs.
In addition, already vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, many cities in Kosovo suffer from poor air quality, with the transport sector being one of the major sources of pollutants. In response, 75 percent of the funding is earmarked for climate related projects and 25 percent for women owned MSMEs, a portion of which will be used to finance green projects. This will help increase the availability of climate finance for replacing outdated cars with hybrid and electric vehicles, and spur adoption of resource-efficient equipment and small photovoltaic installations to reduce energy consumption by individuals and MSMEs in Kosovo. It is IFC`s first loan with demonstrated green-gender use of proceeds.
"As we celebrate the 15th anniversary of Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Women initiative, we remain dedicated to empowering female entrepreneurs to accelerate growth through access to capital," said Charlotte Keenan, Global Director of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women. "We are pleased to support Raiffeisen Leasing as it expands lending to women-owned businesses in Kosovo."
"One of IFC's key priorities in Kosovo is to improve access to credit for small businesses, especially women‐owned firms, while reducing emissions," said Rana Karadsheh, IFC`s Regional Director for Europe. "IFC's investment in a top leasing company will help provide a flexible financing option for underserved MSMEs, spurring competition through product diversification and supporting Kosovo's green transition for sustainable growth."
IFC will also support Raiffeisen Leasing to improve its environmental, social, and financial risk management practices along with sharing knowledge and best practices in gender and climate lending.
About IFC
IFC — a 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 2023, IFC committed a record $43.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
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About Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo
Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo L.L.C. was established in year 2008, with its headquarters in Prishtina. The main activity of the company is the provision of financial leasing for movable and immovable assets. During these years of operation, Raiffeisen Leasing has built a stable position in Kosovo market, making it the leading company in providing leasing products to customers throughout the territory of Kosovo covering the needs of Business and Private customers. Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo LLC as a part of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) Group that is the first Austrian bank that signed the UN Principles for Responsible Banking, thus showing commitment to offer sustainable lending services for the society and our role to finance the green and just transition in Kosovo. Therefore, sustainable leasing with social and green criteria remains the mission that we follow in Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo.
About Banking on Women
IFC's Banking on Women business has mobilized and invested over US$4 billion in financial institutions, specifically to finance women-led SMEs. Since its launch in 2010, IFC's Banking on Women business has been providing financial and business solutions to women-led SMEs through its financial institution partners, with 204 investment and advisory services projects in 66 countries. Of these, the WEOF has supported $2.81 billion in commitments to 95 financial institutions in 55 countries. For more information, visit bankingonwomen.com.
About the IDA Private Sector Window
The International Development Association's (IDA) Private Sector Window was launched in 2017 to catalyze private sector investment in the poorest and most fragile countries. Recognizing the key role of the private sector in achieving IDA's objectives and the World Bank`s twin goals, the window provides a source of co-investment funding and guarantees to de-risk private investments supported by IFC and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The IDA PSW is an option when there is no commercial solution, and the World Bank's other tools and approaches are insufficient. For more information, visit: http://ida.worldbank.org/psw.
About Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women is an ongoing initiative to foster economic growth by providing women entrepreneurs around the world with a business and management education and access to capital. The initiative has reached over 200,000 women from over 150 countries. In partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women launched the first-of-its-kind global finance facility in 2014 to enable access to capital to more women entrepreneurs. The 10,000 Women in-person business education program was launched in 2008, reaching over 10,000 women across 15 countries around the world, and in 2018, the 10,000 Women curriculum was made available online through Coursera, further democratizing access to a business education in more corners of the world. For more information on Goldman Sachs' investment in female entrepreneurs, visit:
https://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000women/
About We-Fi
The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) is a collaborative partnership among the 14 governments that have made financial contributions, six multilateral development banks that serve as implementing partners, and other public and private stakeholders. We-Fi was formally established in October 2017 as a Financial Intermediary Fund hosted by the World Bank. We-Fi invests in programs and projects that help unlock billions of dollars in financing to address the full range of barriers facing women entrepreneurs—increasing access to finance, markets, technology, and mentoring, while strengthening policy, legal and regulatory frameworks. As one of the We-Fi Implementing Partners, IFC supports private sector clients with investment 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 www.we-fi.org
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