Small business

Promoting smaller enterprises

The Bank pays particular attention to promoting start-up businesses and has long supported micro and small enterprises (MSEs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - because they contribute fundamentally to our mandate of promoting market economies and democracies.

Financial tools are available to SMEs, as is non-financial assistance in the form of the TAM/BAS programme which provides advisory services.

Roughly speaking, a micro enterprise has financing needs of 6,800 or less and a small business has financing needs of 68,000 or less. A medium-sized firm has 250 or fewer employees.

One of the principal obstacles to developing small business is lack of funding, which the EBRD addresses by providing finance through local banks and dedicated microfinance institutions.  The Bank also endeavours to improve the investment climate in which they operate.

Credit lines for small business

Our commitments to banks in the region through debt products are over €2.6 billion. Priorities are to promote bank lending to private enterprises, stimulate inter and intra regional trade, support investment finance, working capital and export finance, and lending for SMEs.
Read more

Our MSME strategy

The Bank's MSME strategy further aims to outline how the Bank can best support small businesses across all of the Bank’s countries of operations, strengthen the financial sector infrastructure dedicated to financing growth of MSMEs of all sizes, improve the business environment for MSMEs, and develop the skill sets of small entrepreneurs.

We have been active in supporting the growing small business sector over the last 13 years through a variety of instruments and activities. This strategy paper will focus on the core elements of the Bank’s approach towards supporting the development of MSMEs in its countries of operation. 

Full MSME strategy (279KB - PDF)

Summary of public comments  (23KB - PDF)

Helping small enterprises in early transition countries

The Early Transition Countries Initiative aims to stimulate economic activity in the Bank's eight poorest countries of operations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. More than 50 per cent of the people in these countries live below the national poverty line.
Read more

EU and EBRD collaboration

The EU and EBRD have committed to channel around €1 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises and municipalities in new EU member countries through two facilities: the EU/EBRD SME Finance Facility and the EU/EBRD Municipal Finance Facility. The facilities work with local financial intermediaries to reach new customers.
Read more

Insurance, leasing and other services

Equity and debt financing to insurance, pension, leasing, asset management, consumer finance and non-bank mortgage institutions mobilises savings and promotes a competitive financial services environment.
Read more

Micro and small business finance

The EBRD's Group for Small Business supports MSE programmes through financial intermediaries. These programmes enable small businesses to access formal finance, which is often an obstacle in the Bank's countries of operations. In addition to working with existing banks, the EBRD helps establish microfinance banks and non-bank microfinance institutions.
Read more

How to enquire about financing

Non-financial support

The TAM/BAS programmes provides small enterprises with guidance and advice from highly experienced business advisers and consultants.
Read more

Last updated 9 April 2010