February 24 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) said on Thursday it will provide a 20 million euro ($22.3 million) loan to the Bosnian unit of Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo to support socially responsible small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in the Balkan country.
Intesa Sanpaolo BiH will on-lend the funds to local companies that are committed to improving their social impact and creating long-term leadership and employment opportunities for women, young people and segments of the population that face higher entry barriers in the labour market, the EIB said in a statement.
The funding is expected to create economic opportunities for women, young people and vulnerable groups through increasing access to finance and job creation.
The loan also includes a performance-based reward mechanism for companies that meet specific targets. The reward mechanism will be financed via a 3.3 million euro grant provided under the EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI) Fund. Furthermore, a comprehensive technical assistance programme will be created to support the project’s implementation and the achievement of the social impact objectives agreed with SMEs and mid-caps in Bosnia, the EIB said.
($ = 0.8951 euro)
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