PODGORICA (Montenegro), October 18 (SeeNews) – The European Investment Bank (EIB) has extended a 50 million euro ($58.8 million) loan to the Investment and Development Fund of Montenegro (IRF) for the support of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country, the IRF said on Wednesday.
The loan represents the second and final tranche of a total of 100 million euro credit line already approved by the EIB to support the development of SMEs, employment of young people and the opening of jobs, the IRF said in a statement.
"With the agreement signed today in the amount of 50 million euro, we want to cope with the big negative aspects that exist in Montenegro, the high unemployment rate, especially among the young people," the head of the EIB division for Slovenia, Croatia and Western Balkans, Matteo Rivellini, said.
The cooperation with the EIB is of significant importance, as it provides IRF with a financial resource to support entrepreneurship and SMEs, the president of the fund, Zoran Vukcevic, said.
The EIB signed the first 50 million euro tranche of the credit line earlier this year, the IRF noted.
The total value of the loans extended by the EIB to the IRF so far amounts to 220 million euro.
IRF was established by the Montenegrin government in 2009 with the purpose of encouraging and facilitating the country's economic development.
($=0.8501 euro)