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Bulgarian entrepreneurs get more financial support
€10 million EBRD loan to BACB helps support private sector growth
Entrepreneurs across Bulgaria will gain more access to finance following a €10
million loan from the EBRD to the Bulgarian American Credit Bank (BACB), a
US-owned bank dedicated to supporting private-sector growth in the country.
The loan is being complemented with €250,000 from the EU to support staff
training and ensure successful implementation of the loan. These amounts are
part of the EU/EBRD SME Finance Facility, a programme to promote SME growth
and development in the new EU member states, plus Bulgaria and Romania.
John Chomel Doe, EBRD Director for Bulgaria, said this loan will help meet the
growing demands of entrepreneurs for access to finance to build or expand
their businesses. A thriving SME sector will help drive Bulgaria’s economic
growth, and by working with Bank’s like BACB we will continue to support this
important sector, Mr Chomel Doe added.
The BACB was set up in 1996 by the Bulgarian American Enterprise Fund, a US
government-funded facility to support Bulgaria’s transition to a market
economy. Already a strong supporter of SMEs, the bank will use the loan to
finance more entrepreneurs through branches in the cities of Plovdiv, Burgas,
Varna and Stara Zagora, as well as through its mobile lending group covering
10 additional towns across the country. Through BACB, entrepreneurs can obtain
loans of up to €125,000.
The SME Facility was launched in 1999 under the Phare Programme – the main
channel for the EU's financial and technical cooperation with the EU accession
countries – with the EBRD, to encourage the growth and development of SMEs by
providing access to loans, leasing and equity finance from local financial
intermediaries. The budget earmarked for the Phare Programme as a whole is
about €1.5 billion a year.
The EBRD is the largest investor in Bulgaria, having committed more than €941
million, in 50 projects. The Bank has mobilised a total of around €3.7 billion
for projects in the country by working with its many partners, including the
private sector.
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