October 17 (SeeNews) - The Development Facility of the European Fund for Southeastern Europe (EFSE DF) had confirmed its commitment to facilitate the transformation of Albania's FED Invest into a leading financial institution for rural areas and enterprises, EFSE DF said on Monday.
Under the agreement, the EFSE DF will cover part of the costs of a multi-year capacity building plan to reach the objective of fostering economic development and improving the standard of living in Albania's rural areas, the EFSE DF said in a statement.
FED invest is a financial services provider, which covers 1,080 villages and about one third of rural Albania. It was set up through the merger of 70 savings and credit associations. FED Invest was formerly known as Albanian Savings and Credit Union (ASCU). The EFSE DF started supporting the transformation of ASCU in 2014.
"The consolidation of SCAs and the formation of FED Invest is a very important first step towards a broader outreach and better service for small and medium enterprises in rural areas," EFSE DF committee chairman Markus Aschendorf said.
EFSE DF was created in 2006. It provides technical assistance aimed to maximise the impact and extent of the Fund's development finance mandate in target countries.
The EFSE was initiated by German development bank KfW with the financial support of the German economic cooperation and development ministry and the European Commission. It aims to foster economic development and prosperity in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine and Turkey.