This pioneering initiative will improve access to finance over the next five years, contributing to scale up digital financial solutions and piloting insurance to 500,000 low-income farmers, including women, youth entrepreneurs.

By addressing the need for improved access to financial services and support for MSMEs in agriculture, the project aims to contribute to the creation of jobs and the sustainable and inclusive economic development of the sector.

With support from the World Bank, the Western Balkan economies are making significant progress in aligning their national payment systems with EU standards as part of their accession goals.

The general objective is to test a tailor-made and innovative agricultural product for smallholder farmers and expand the loan products to rural areas.

KEP Trust plans to on-lend the proceeds of the senior, unsecured loan to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

The initiative, known as the Debt Resolution Project, is expected to create a safety net for businesses and investors, improving access to credit, especially for small and medium enterprises.

The facility has been provided under IFC’s Small Loan Guarantee Program (SLGP), a programmatic approach to risk-sharing that aims to strengthen the capacity of financial institutions to finance SMEs in low-income countries.