Council of Europe Development Bank Approves Loans to MFIs in Albania, Montenegro and Spain

Source: Council of Europe Development Bank

ALBANIA: A $11 million loan to Fed Invest, backed by a guarantee from the CEB’s Social Impact Account (SIA), will support employment and income-generating activities for vulnerable groups throughout the country. A minimum of 35% of the funds will be allocated to women entrepreneurs. The project is expected to assist 3,000 micro-enterprises and farms, and contribute to the creation of at least 250 jobs. A €49,000 technical assistance grant from the Slovak Inclusive Growth Account will support Fed Invest’s financial literacy services for residents of rural areas, including women.

MONTENEGRO: A $11 million loan to Alter Modus d.o.o., Montenegro’s leading microfinance institution, will co-finance its "Credit for Micro and Small Enterprises" product line, supporting 4,000 micro-enterprises and farms and potentially creating over 250 new jobs. Gender equality will be promoted through Alter Modus’s commitment to allocate, on a best effort basis, 40% of the CEB loan to women entrepreneurs.

SPAIN: A $110 million loan to Nuevo MicroBank, Spain’s only dedicated microfinance institution, will expand access to finance for micro-enterprises and vulnerable individuals. CEB has been a longstanding partner of MicroBank since its inception, and this operation is the eighth CEB loan to the institution. At the end of 2023, MicroBank reported that all previously allocated CEB loans, amounting to €661 million in total, had enabled the provision of more than 69,000 microloans.