October 6 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to provide 30 million euro ($34.6 million) loan to the Slovenian Regional Development Fund (SRDF) to accelerate the COVID-19 recovery of Slovenian small and medium companies (SMEs), mid-caps and municipalities, it said on Wednesday.
The financing will contribute to creating a new credit line to be available to companies operating in the agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors of the local economy, among the hardest hit by the pandemic, the EIB said in a statement.
"With this operation, the EIB continues to deliver hands-on support to Slovenia, its companies and local authorities. Мore accessible and more flexible financing is crucial for faster COVID-19 recovery. We want to see Slovenia weather the crisis as quickly as possible, so the country can continue to grow and develop, create and protect jobs and incomes for its citizens, and be able to contribute to global climate action," Lilyana Pavlova, Vice President of the EIB, who is responsible for operations in Slovenia, said.
Municipalities will be able to use the EIB funds at SRDF to improve infrastructure, environmental protection, and energy efficiency and boost the knowledge economy in Slovenia, as well as for financing projects offering a local-level response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EIB noted.
"With the new loan from EIB, we will be able to further enhance our financial programs for post- COVID-19 recovery projects of Slovene companies and for local infrastructure, needed to support new efforts of economy and society. With which we will not only protect jobs and income, but in some cases, also support the creation of new businesses, growth of income and creation of new jobs," the CEO of SRDF, Matjaz Ribas, said.
The credit line will support Slovenian companies by providing flexible financing for working capital, additional liquidity needs, or ongoing and new investments and expansion plans. The funding will allow the companies to protect jobs and continue to fuel Slovenian economic and social growth.
($ = 0.86567 euro)