What we do
Institutional investors
Equity products
AI Co-Investment Facility
Cleantech Co-Investment Facility
Impact investing at the EIF
Climate & Infrastructure Funds
Technology Transfer
European Angels Fund (EAF) - Co-investments with Business Angels
Venture capital
The Social Impact Accelerator (SIA)
Lower mid-market
Mezzanine Facility for Growth
VentureEU
EFSI Equity instrument
Single EU Equity Financial Instrument
COSME - Equity Facility for Growth
InnovFin Equity
Private equity secondary market transactions
EIF-NPI Equity Platform
ESCALAR Programme
Debt products
New ESIF ERDF Guarantee Fund initiative in Greece
EFSI Private Credit Programme
AGRI Guarantee Facility
AGRI Italy Platform Uncapped Guarantee Instrument
Credit enhancement
Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility (CCS GF)
ENSI - Securitisation Initiative
Erasmus+ Master Loan Guarantee Facility
Skills & Education Guarantee Pilot
EREM debt products
Single EU Debt Financial Instrument
Documentary Finance Facility – Bulgaria
The SME Initiative
The SME Initiative Bulgaria
The SME Initiative Finland
The SME Initiative Italy
The SME Initiative Malta
The SME Initiative Romania
The SME Initiative Spain
Inclusive finance
EaSI Financial Instruments
EaSI Capacity Building Investments Window
EaSI Guarantee Instrument
EaSI Funded Instrument
European Progress Microfinance Facility
Entrepreneurs supported through Progress Microfinance
European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)
How does EIF contribute to EFSI
How to apply for EFSI financing
Regional Development - Country and sector-specific initiatives
Normandie Garantie Agri
FAIRE - La Réunion
Auvergne Rhône-Alpes FEADER
Recovery Equity Fund of Funds of Bulgaria
Fons d’Inversió en Tecnologia Avançada (FITA) Catalonia
Dutch Future Fund (DFF)
Dutch Alternative Credit Instrument (DACI)
PORTUGAL BLUE: a new initiative for blue economy investments
JEREMIE Greece Reflows – Business Angels’ Co-Investment Equity Instrument
German Corona Matching Facility (CMF)
Portugal Growth programme
Central and Eastern European Technology Transfer (CEETT)
Croatian Growth Investment Programme (CROGIP) II
Croatian Growth Investment Programme (CROGIP)
Croatian Venture Capital Initiative 2 (CVCi 2)
AGRI Italy Platform Uncapped Guarantee Instrument
DISPOSITIF INSTRUMENTS FINANCIERS BOURGOGNE FRANCHE-COMTÉ
ALTER’NA – ESIF EARFD Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Baltic Innovation Fund 1 (BIF 1)
Baltic Innovation Fund 2 (BIF 2)
Central Europe Fund of Funds (CEFoF)
Croatian Venture Capital Initiative (CVCi FoF)
Competitiveness Fund-of-Funds for SMEs in Romania
The Cyprus Entrepreneurship Fund (CYPEF)
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Initiative East Guarantee Facility (DCFTA)
EU4Business Capped Guarantee
Dutch Growth Co-Investment Programme
Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI-II)
ESIF Fund-of-Funds Greece
EAFRD FoF Portugal
EAFRD FoF Romania
The ERP-EIF Facility
ERP-EIF Co-Investment Growth Facility
The LfA-EIF Facilities
The German Future Fund (GFF) - EIF Growth Facility
INAF – French National Agricultural Initiative
ESIF Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Malta
Regional Fund-of-Funds Romania
ESIF Fund-of-Funds Czech Republic
The Silesia EIF Fund of Funds
La Financière Région Réunion
The EIB Group Risk Enhancement Mandate (EREM)
EstFund
Call for Expression of Interest for FOSTER II
Greater Anatolia Guarantee Facility (GAGF)
G43 - Anatolian Venture Capital Fund Project
InvestBG Equity Instrument
JEREMIE
Romania Recovery Equity Fund of Funds
JEREMIE Romania Reflows – Equity Instrument
Luxembourg Future Fund 1 (LFF)
Luxembourg Future Fund 2
Mezzanine 'Fund of Fund' for Germany (MDD)
NEOTEC resources
Polish Growth Fund of Funds (PGFF)
Portugal Venture Capital Initiative (PVCi)
Scottish-European Growth Co-Investment Programme
Slovene Equity Growth Investment Programme (SEGIP)
Swedish Venture Initiative (SVI)
Turkish Growth and Innovation Fund (TGIF)
Western Balkans Enterprise Development & Innovation Facility (WB EDIF)
EAFRD FoF Greece
Irish Innovation Seed Fund (IISF)
RRF Czech Republic Fund of Funds

European Union boosts youth employment in Western Balkans with €10 million for small and medium enterprises

  •  
    Date: 06 August 2020
  • Businesses offering employment or training to young people will benefit from €85 million in loans, thanks to a €10 million guarantee package financed by the European Union
  • Up to 1 200 SMEs in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovowill benefit and create up to 1 300 vocational training, internship or employment opportunities for local youth

To address youth unemployment, a key economic and social challenge for the region, the European Union, through the European Investment Fund (EIF), has provided additional guarantees that will enable banks in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo[†] to offer loans on favourable terms to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).  An estimated 1 200 businesses will now be able to benefit from these loans, which will allow them to create 1 300 vocational training programmes, internships and employment opportunities for young people.

The European Union is providing support as part of the EU for Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship initiative implemented under the Western Balkans Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility (WB EDIF) and its EU for Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship mechanism set up to support youth employment in the region by removing obstacles facing local SMEs when accessing financing.

Across the Western Balkans, up to 99% of all businesses are of small or medium size and provide employment to over 70% of the workforce. At the same time, unemployment rates among young people are the highest in the world. They vary from 28.3% in Albania to 55.4% in Kosovo (2018). Many young workers are engaged in temporary jobs, in the informal economy, and with a high incidence of skill mismatches.

Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, said: We continue to help the SMEs as they provide many jobs in the Western Balkans. Supporting businesses that employ young people is a particular priority. Investing in youth gives momentum for a stronger, more innovative and dynamic economy in the region.’

Alessandro Tappi, Head of Equity Investments and Guarantees at the EIF, said: “Strengthening SMEs and creating new employment opportunities for youth is a key that can unlock faster economic and social development in the Western Balkans. The European Union`s Western Balkans Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility (WB EDIF) is an important contribution to economic and social sustainability and the EIF is proud of the opportunity to act on behalf of the European Union and support the region on its growth trajectory.”

The EIF-guaranteed loans will be available to SMEs at Intesa Sanpaolo Banka Bosnia i Hercegovina, ProCredit Bank Albania, ProCredit Bank Kosovo, Raiffeisen Bank Albania and Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo and will offer favourable terms, such as reduced pricing, lower collateral, longer maturities or a combination of these.

 

Additional information:

The Western Balkans Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility (WB EDIF) is a comprehensive financing platform combining loans, equity, guarantees, incentive grants and technical assistance to support SME growth. Since 2012, the European Union has provided over €190 million through the WB EDIF, supporting 113 000 jobs and 5 400 SMEs across the Western Balkans.

The guarantee to which we refer in the press release is one of the four pillars of the Western Balkans Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility (WB EDIF). This is one of the first portfolio guarantee instruments in the Western Balkans. It is specifically designed for the local economies, preparing the financial ecosystem to implement larger EU-funded guarantee programmes supporting competitiveness and innovation, such as the programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (COSME), EU Finance for Innovators (InnovFin), or the Employment and Social Innovation programme (EaSI).

This guarantee pillar of the WB EDIF is managed on the European Union’s behalf by the EIF, part of the European Investment Bank group. EIF’s central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses by helping them to access finance. The European Union has funded the guarantee pillar of the WB EDIF with a total of €69.4 million. By 2019, these EU funds alone had supported over 3 000 SMEs across the Western Balkans, and mobilised a total €490 million in loans on favourable terms.

Following the success of the initial guarantee instruments, additional EU funding of €30 million was allocated in 2019, of which €20 million was provided to a national window for SMEs in Serbia. The remaining €10 million has now been disbursed to five commercial banks in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. For more information, please refer to http://www.wbedif.eu/

 

About the European Investment Fund (EIF):

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops both venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment. https://www.eif.org/

 

Press contacts:

Tibor Jona, t.jona@eib.org, tel.: +352 691 287 052

Website: www.eib.org/press - Press Office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org



 *This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

 

We use cookies to give the best browser experience on our website. or change cookie settings.

Note: Following the recent withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, we are updating the relevant EIF.org pages.

 
 

Copyright ©

 European Investment Fund   – The European Investment Fund is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.