Guarantee Facility

Key features

For SMEs with growth potential in the Western Balkans in need of a loan, covering financing for investment and working capital
SMEs can obtain a loan of up to EUR 500.000
Loans to SMEs are provided via financial intermediaries which are selected through a Call for Expression of Interest by the EIF who manages the Guarantee Facility
EIF covers part of the risk incurred by the intermediary when building up a new portfolio of SME loans and thus incentivises banks to provide access to finance to SMEs
EIF guarantee is expected to generate an overall loan volume of over EUR 110 million

What is the Guarantee Facility?

The WB EDIF Guarantee Facility is managed by the EIF and provides guarantees and counter-guarantees to financial intermediaries in the Western Balkans, supporting SMEs with growth potential.

The WBEDIF Guarantee Facility was first launched in 2013 whereby high demand in the market led to a quick and full allocation of the resources available and a close of the Call for Expression of Interest on 30.06.2014.

Following the successful implementation of the WB EDIF GF, the WB EDIF GF II was signed between the EIF and the European Commission in December 2015. Similarly to WB EDIF GF, WB EDIF GF II will provide guarantees to eligible Financial Intermediaries established and operating in one or several Western Balkan countries to encourage them to build up new portfolios of SME transactions and thereby improving access to finance to SMEs in the Western Balkans region.

The corresponding second open Call for Expression of Interest went live on 18 March 2016 and was also fully allocated, leading to a close of the call on 27 February 2017.

Both calls for expression of interest are archived for reference purposes on EIF’s website.

Guarantee Facility Agreements signed to date

Under the first allocation of funding the European Investment Fund signed a total of 6 First Loss Portfolio Guarantee (FLPG) Agreements with :

ProCredit in Albania
ProCredit in Bosnia & Herzegovina
ProCredit in Kosovo*.
UniCredit in Serbia
CKB in Montenegro
Raiffeisen in Croatia

These agreements have made a total of over EUR 118m available to SMEs in these countries, allowing them to benefit from reduced collateral requirements for new loans for investment and/or working capital.

Under the second allocation of funding the European Investent Fund signed a total of 5 First Loss Portfolio (FLPG) Agreements with :

ProCredit Macedonia
ProCredit Serbia
ProCredit Kosovo*.
Raiffeisen Albania
CKB Montenegro

These agreements have made a total of EUR 107m available to SMEs in these countries, allowing them to benefit from reduced collateral requirements for new loans for investment and/or working capital.

Consult the list of intermediaries here

The Guarantee Facility – Background

Access to loan finance remains one of the biggest challenges for SMEs in the Western Balkans, despite the fact that SMEs are an important pillar for growth and employment in the local economy.

The challenge is even bigger for a segment of the SME market, made of start-up, newly established enterprises or in general SMEs that do not have the appropriate financial history or are lacking sufficient collateral to secure a loan.
The WB EDIF Guarantee Facility addresses this challenge by making available loans and guarantees to SMEs through financial intermediaries.

Contact the WB EDIF Guarantee Facility
For all enquiries regarding the Guarantee Facility, please contact:

European Investment Fund (EIF)
37B, avenue J.F. Kennedy
L-2968 Luxembourg
Kostas Papachristopoulos
[email protected]
T : (+352) 24 85 1
F : (+352) 24 85 81