-
Conference celebrates women entrepreneurs in the Western Balkans -
Critical role of financial sector in mainstreaming gender equality highlighted -
EBRD and NLB Banka Podgorica sign new credit line for women-led SMEs
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) organized a conference in Podgorica, Montenegro, bringing together partner banks and financial institutions, donors, businesswomen, experts and other stakeholders to discuss additional support for female entrepreneurship. The conference was organized as part of the EBRD flagship program Business women (WiB), supported by Sweden in the Western Balkans.
Participating financial institutions from the Western Balkans presented awards to the program’s sub-borrowers – women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – to celebrate their work and contribution to women’s economic inclusion.
Additionally, a key panel of bankers and experts focused on the role of the financial sector in gender-responsive mainstream financing.
During the conference, the EBRD also signed a one million euro credit line with NLB Bank of Podgorica which will be transferred to businesses run by women in Montenegro. The new credit line builds on the success of the first loan of 2 million euros granted to the bank when it joined the WiB program.
Aleksandra Vukosavljevic, EBRD Director of Financial Institutions for the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe, said: “We are pleased to continue our close cooperation with NLB in Podgorica. The new credit line provided to NLB will help strengthen the competitiveness of local women-led businesses, create more employment opportunities and strengthen inclusive growth in the SME sector in Montenegro.
BERD Women in Business is a comprehensive program that helps women-led SMEs access tailored finance and business advice. Advisory services in the Western Balkans are currently supported by Sweden via grants from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). EBRD loans are provided to local partner banks, which in turn provide targeted loans to businesses owned or led by women. in more than 20 countriesincluding in the six Western Balkan markets.
Maria Melbing, SIDA Unit Manager for Western Balkans and Turkey, said: “SIDA is proud of the partnership with the EBRD through the Women in Business programme, which helps foster a sustainable ecosystem for entrepreneurship in the Western Balkans. When women have the opportunity to innovate, lead and succeed as entrepreneurs, society as a whole benefits. The program has proven essential in helping them exploit this potential, while facilitating their access to tailored advisory services and financing from partner financial institutions whose on-lending capacity to the segment has also been strengthened.
Women-led SMEs continue to face barriers to accessing finance in countries where the EBRD invests, including Montenegro. They tend to be seen as an untested segment and are therefore underserved by local commercial banks.
To address this issue, the EBRD’s Women in Business program has been operational in the Western Balkans since 2014. By the end of 2022, the program had disbursed €74 million in secondary loans to around 6,000 women entrepreneurs. Besides Sida, the program has also previously been supported by Italy And Luxembourg. With the support of donors, Women in Business has completed more than 600 consulting projects and trained more than 900 women in the Western Balkans.