SARAJEVO (Reuters) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Thursday launched a programme worth 377 million euros ($417 million) to help small and medium-sized enterprises develop new technologies in the Western Balkans.
The programme, developed with the support of the European Union, will combine loans, grants and technical assistance for investments in digitalisation, automation and green technologies, officials said during a presentation in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital, Sarajevo.
The bank says the digital modernisation of the private sector can play a vital role in improving socio-economic conditions in the region and strengthening ties with the European Union.
“With today’s launch of the regional Go Digital in the Western Balkans initiative, the EU reaffirms its strong support for SMEs – the backbone of the region’s economies,” Adebayo Babajide, the deputy head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia, said.
The development bank will extend up to 350 million euros to partner financial institutions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia to lend to small and medium companies.
The European Union will also provide 27.6 million euros in grant incentives and technical assistance for the programme, secured through the Western Balkans Investment Framework.
Francis Malige, the EBRD’s Managing Director of Financial Institutions, said the programme would address “substantial gaps in technology adoption”.
It builds on the success of an ongoing 61.5 million-euro pilot programme in Bosnia that since 2023 has supported investments in nearly 200 local companies, and will enable around 750 businesses to receive support to innovate, digitalise and embrace green technologies, Babajide said.
“EU grants not only provide technical expertise and incentives, but also make financing more accessible and affordable for SMEs, with a special emphasis on women-led SMEs,” he said in a statement.
Since 2009, the EU has channelled 628 million euros through the WBIF to support private sector growth through grants, guarantees and blended finance. The EBRD has invested more than 20 billion euros in the Western Balkans since the mid-1990s, supporting particularly the private sector and SMEs.
($1 = 0.9031 euros)
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
