October 26 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Tuesday it is considering providing a senior unsecured loan of up to 5 million euro ($5.8 million) to Kosovo's Banka per Biznes to support the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
The potential funding would be used for on-lending to SMEs to upgrade production facilities or for investments that will make their operations compatible with EU standards in areas such as environmental protection, worker safety and product quality, the EBRD said in a project summary document.
At least 60% of the loans would go to investments that support the Green Economy Transition (GET), the EBRD added.
Furthermore, the borrowers can benefit from technical assistance in the preparation and implementation of their investments and grants for implementation in line with EBRD's Regional SME Competitiveness Support Programme provided by the European Union.
Banka per Biznes, established in 2001, is the seventh largest bank in Kosovo with a market share of 6.5% by total assets and 6.4% by net loans as of end-June.
The EBRD holds a 10% stake in Banka per Biznes since 2010.
($ = 0.8616 euro)