The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has allocated €8m ($9.3m) to Sparkasse Bank Skopje for the green finance facility (GFF) in North Macedonia.
The funding will be used to offer loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The GFF pools resources from the Joint SDG Fund, the government of North Macedonia, the EBRD, and various local banks.
The programme is delivered through partnerships involving the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, International Organization for Migration, EBRD, government agencies in North Macedonia, and support from the UN Resident Coordinator.
The GFF aims to make financing accessible to SMEs and under-represented groups seeking to undertake projects that cut greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants.
These activities align with national climate strategies and follow the EBRD’s Green Economy Transition (GET) approach.
The project complies with the Paris Agreement and includes technical assistance alongside investment incentives.
To date, the EBRD has invested over €3bn ($3.5m) across more than two hundred projects in North Macedonia.
EBRD North Macedonia head Fatih Turkmenoglu said: “This new loan under the Green Finance Facility demonstrates our commitment to empowering SMEs to adopt renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
“With this facility extension, we are proud to mark a milestone: the EBRD will have allocated €37m to support SMEs and their investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency through the GFF.”
Sparkasse Bank Skopje is ranked as North Macedonia’s fifth-largest bank, channelling these funds into SME projects to support sustainability.
Sparkasse Bank Skopje management board deputy president Nina Nedanoska commented: “With the new Green Finance Facility credit line, we once again confirm our role as a reliable and long-term partner of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises – the backbone of the economy of North Macedonia.
“As a bank that stands shoulder to shoulder with businesses at every stage of their development, we remain focused on providing financial solutions that create long-term value – for our clients, for the economy and for the community as a whole.”
Earlier this month, EBRD prepared an unfunded risk-sharing guarantee of €25m ($29m) for Crnogorska komercijalna banka (CKB), enabling lending capacity for MSMEs in Montenegro.
“EBRD allocates $9.3m to Sparkasse Bank Skopje via green finance facility” was originally created and published by Leasing Life, a GlobalData owned brand.
