European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Allocation and activities in 2007
With
€ 136 million of new commitments (approximately two-thirds of these for public
sector projects and one-third for private sector projects, including three
regional projects), 2007 was the fourth record year for EBRD in BiH.
One
recent public sector initiative is the Road Rehabilitation Project, bringing
together € 75 million for the repair of key sections of the primary road
network in BiH. The other public sector project signed in 2007 concerns the
construction of the priority wastewater collection network in the town of Bijeljina in order to
prevent further pollution of underground water (aquifers) that is used as the
source of potable water, thus reducing the health hazard for the town’s
population.
In
the financial sector, EBRD has continued its support for Small and Medium-sized
Enterprises (SMEs) by providing €10 million to Raiffeisen bank. EBRD also
provided € 5 million to Raiffeisen Leasing Sarajevo that will be made available
to entrepreneurs, giving them the opportunity to expand their business, for
example by leasing production equipment.
In
the micro and small business finance field EBRD financed, to date, six of BiH’s
leading microfinance institutions: EKI, € 6 million and Mikrofin, € 8 million
in 2006; Sunrise, € 4 million, Partner, € 8 million, Prizma, € 2 million, and
MI BOSPO, € 3 million in 2007. EBRD will also provide technical assistance to
help them in their commercialization and future transformation into deposit
taking institutions. These institutions have an average sub-loan size of less
than € 2,000 and are often active in rural areas where there are no banks.
In
2007 the Bank signed the first two projects under the Local Enterprise Facility
(LEF) totaling € 5.3 million.
Contact information
European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development
Address: Fra Anđela Žvizdovića 1, B/15, 71000 Sarajevo, BiH
Phone: +387 33.667.945
Fax: +387 33.667.950
Email: linkesd@ebrd.com
Web address: http://www.ebrd.com
