In attendance of the ceremony organized on this occasion were the Governor of the BoA, Gent Sejko, the President of the EBRD Odile Renaud-Basso, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Frida Krifca, Minister of Tourism and Environment Mirela Kumbaro, the Charge d’Affaires of the European Union Delegation, Alexis Hupin, as well as other representatives of the line.

Governor Sejko, in his remarks on this occasion, said that, “under the umbrella of this program, the EBRD, the European Union and the Government of Albania, in partnership with the financial sector, are increasing access to financing for companies operating in these sectors, addressing one of the main challenges for their development. ”

Sejko stressed that, “the signing of the agreement today is a step forward in increasing funding in these sectors.”

“The EBRD has made available a fund of up to 100 million euros for financing and risk sharing facilities, which will enable an additional investment of 80 million euros from participating financial institutions. For its part, the Albanian government has made available up to 36 million euros to support this program by covering the risk of the first losses in the time frame of 3 years. “Since the start of the program in 2016, more than 6,100 small and medium-sized enterprises in the field of agribusiness have benefited loans worth 70 million euros,” said the Governor.

Sejko pointed out that we are all aware of the difficulties in financing companies in the field of agribusiness and tourism which, for the most part, are organized as small and medium enterprises.

“But also, he underlined, we are all aware of the great potential of these companies, as value creators, as promoters and a source of innovation. “All of these are important ingredients for a successful recipe for the sustainable development of our economy.”
The Governor of the BoA added that it is extremely important and fruitful to undertake such programs, which enable not only the availability of funds, but also increase the analytics, evaluation and financing capacity of the banking sector.

“Guarantee and risk-sharing instruments ease the burden of banks in terms of risk and further help pave the way for sustainable financing of these sectors. I have said before that any effort to increase access to financing should be seen as a joint opportunity for growth, both by the real sector and by the banking industry. Therefore, I will continue to encourage the banking industry for a greater, yet careful commitment to the potential sectors of the country “, said Sejko.
The Governor thanked in particular our international partners, the EBRD and the EU, for their concrete support with financial investments in key areas of the economy, while emphasizing that, “thanks to this support we are able to achieve sustainable development results and make a real difference in people’s lives. ”
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