The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Erste Bank Serbia have signed an agreement on guarantees with the aim of supporting micro-enterprises in Serbia within the framework of the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI).
The contract will cover a loan portfolio of 4.7 million euros for close to 850 Serbian micro-enterprises that will be able to take advantage of loans at attractive terms, without the need to provide additional guarantees. Those interested are able to apply for microloans from 5th December this year.
This is the first step in the implementation of the “Step by Step” social banking programme in Serbia, a programme that Erste Group launched in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Austria in order to support clients who are traditionally insufficiently covered by banking services: new businesses, including those just starting in entrepreneurship, social enterprises and civil society organisations.