The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 50 million to finance projects promoted by SMEs and MidCap companies in Armenia.

The EIB loan is being provided to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, which will make the EIB funds available to eligible SMEs and MidCap companies throughout the country via numerous financial intermediaries, including banks and universal credit organisations. The loan is further EU measure to support Armenian businesses and is provided in the context of the EU4 Business initiative.

EIB Vice-President Jan Vapaavuori stated: “EIB funds intermediated through the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, a well-established partner of the EIB, will improve the access of Armenian SMEs and Mid-Caps to long-term finance in local currency on favourable terms. This will contribute to the diversification of the Armenian economy and private-sector development and will have a positive influence on job creation in the country”.

Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia Arthur Javadyan, commented: I am confident that this loan will mimic the success story of its predecessor by its effectiveness and accuracy in targeting the access to finance for SMEs in Armenia.

With this loan the EIB and the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia are continuing their successful co-operation in support of Armenian small and medium-sized businesses. The previous EUR 50 million loan for SMEs,signed in 2014, has already been fully disbursed for eligible projects of Armenian SMEs and Midcaps. The EIB funds provided to the Central Bank of Armenia are currently available to SMEs and Midcaps in Armenia through 16 financial intermediaries. To date, more than 100 projects throughout the country have benefitted from them, in particular in the tourism and agri-food sectors. Under this existing loan, the participating financial intermediaries as well as small and medium businesses had an opportunity to benefit from related technical assistance activities funded by the Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (EPTATF).