EBRD and maib support growth of a Moldovan poultry producer

• EBRD and Moldovan partner bank maib lend €9.0 million to poultry producer Axedum
• Funds to support construction of new facilities and expand Axedum’s business lines
• Axedum to benefit from EU support to upgrade technology and align production standards

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Moldovan bank maib are supporting the growth of Moldova’s leading poultry producer Axedum.

The EBRD is sharing half the risk on a €9.0 million financing package provided to Axendum by maib, under the risk-sharing agreement between the two banks.

The transaction will finance the construction of a modern feed mill and enable Axedum to expand into a new business line of egg production.

Axedum, a family business founded in 1997, has ambitions to expand into new business lines and export its products into the European Union, leveraging the opportunities afforded by Moldova’s EU accession candidate status.

As part of the transaction, Axedum will benefit from support provided by the European Union to upgrade its equipment and integrate sustainable technologies. This will enhance the firm’s operational efficiency by reducing carbon emissions, minimising waste and optimising resources. The incentive is provided under the EBRD’s Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change (FINTECC), supported by the EU under its EU4Climate initiative.

This support represents the continuation of a long-term relationship with Axedum, which has resulted in numerous impactful projects provided to the enterprise (under EBRD’s Advice for Small Business Programme), in areas of cost-management, energy efficiency, marketing and client portfolio growth.

Maib, Moldova’s largest bank with a more than 38 per cent market share in the country, has been an EBRD client since 1995. Since 2018, maib’s largest minority shareholder has been a consortium of investors composed of the EBRD, Invalda INVL, an asset management group in the Baltics, and Horizon Capital, an emerging Europe-focused private equity fund manager.

The EBRD has worked in Moldova for three decades, investing more than €2.6 billion in 183 projects to date.