EBRD to allocate $10m for projects of Women in Business program in Belarus in 2016

MINSK. KAZINFORM - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has plans to provide $10 million for the implementation of projects of the Women in Business program in Belarus in 2016, Dzhakhongir Shamsiev, Principal Banker at the EBRD Financial Institutions Department, told reporters on 14 July prior to the ceremony to sign a loan agreement on the Women in Business program with Belarusky Narodny Bank (BNB Bank), BelTA has learned.
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"The signing of the agreement with BNB Bank is a pilot scheme that will help us see how the market and our partner banks will respond to this idea. The amount of future financial support will largely depend on the market performance of this product. As for the minimum amount of financing, we have plans to provide $10 million to our partner banks within the framework of this program in 2016," Dzhakhongir Shamsiev noted. 

He added that negotiations are underway with other Belarusian banks about the possibility of their participation in the program. "Belinvestbank is one of them, and it is currently at the stage of joining the program. I think we may sign a loan agreement with this bank in the near future," Dzhakhongir Shamsiev said. He emphasized that the size of the loan and the terms of financing are determined for each bank individually. "The size will depend on the ‘appetite' of the bank and its ideas regarding potential utilization and promotion of this product on the market," he specified.

Speaking about the allocation of $10 million for Belarus, Dzhakhongir Shamsiev said that this is an approximate estimate calculated based on the total amount of financing earmarked for the Eastern Partnership region that includes Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. "A total of $55 million has been allotted for the pilot phase of the program in these six countries. In the future, the amount can be increased several times depending on the activities of our partner banks," the EBRD representative stated.

The Women in Business program established by the EBRD is designed to promote women's entrepreneurship. It aims to demonstrate that women-led SMEs are able to successfully secure economic development and growth, create jobs and make other social achievements once that market failures are corrected, barriers are eliminated and women are provided with equal opportunities. The EBRD is currently implementing the program in 16 countries.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development founded in 1991 invests in projects that facilitate transition to an open market economy and promote private initiative and entrepreneurship, Kazinform has learnt from BelTA.

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