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EBRD facility helps entrepreneurs in FYR Macedonia
€1 million helps ProCredit Bank Macedonia support SME sector and improve trade finance
Entrepreneurs across Macedonia will have more financing instruments to expand
their businesses with the support of a €1 million trade finance guarantee
facility from the EBRD to ProCredit Bank Macedonia (PCB Macedonia).
PCB Macedonia will join EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme, which supports
trade to, from and within the Bank’s 29 countries of operations. By joining
the TFP, PCB Macedonia will optimise its trade services to its clients by
offering trade finance products without cash collateral and support
cross-border trade with longer tenors. PCB Macedonia will become the sixth
bank in the TFP programme in FYR Macedonia, therefore increasing competition
in the local market and providing more opportunities for local SME clients.
Kenji Nakazawa, EBRD Head of Office in Skopje, said that ProCredit Bank
Macedonia has an excellent track record and commitment to financing SMEs. This
trade finance guarantee will help the bank strengthen its finances and reach
out to more entrepreneurs, therefore supporting growth in the financial and
real sectors of the economy.
Helen Alexander, General Manager of ProCredit Holding, the parent company of
PCB Macedonia, said the trade facilitation guarantee will enable ProCredit
Bank Macedonia to meet the increasing demand for trade finance products. With
23 branches across the country and commitments to open new offices in central
and eastern parts of the country, ProCredit Bank Macedonia is building on its
success in the SME sector to reach out to even more clients, she said.
The EBRD is one of the largest investors in FYR Macedonia, having committed
more than €413 million in 26 projects.
PCB Macedonia is the first and only dedicated microfinance bank in FYR
Macedonia, founded in July 2003 by a group of international financial
institutions to provide financial services to local micro, small and medium
enterprises. PCB Macedonia operates via 23 branches and outlets throughout
the country. To date, the bank has disbursed over 44,000 business loans for a
volume of over €172 million since its establishment.
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