EFSE and BT Leasing Transilvania support SMEs in Romania

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) has offered a €20 million loan to BT Leasing Transilvania to support micro and small companies and SMEs.

Subsidiary of Banca Transilvania Financial Group, BT Leasing offers dedicated financial solutions to support the businesses of local entrepreneurs - thus being an important partner for the European Fund for South East Europe (EFSE) in promoting economic prosperity by strengthening the ability of local financial institutions to provide competitive financing to SMEs. The loan aims to contribute to the success of the businesses themselves, encourage investment and support Romania's economic development.

EFSE Board Chairman Christoph Tiskens said, "Our partnership with BT Leasing is a strong one. Economic growth forecasts in Romania are extremely promising and we need lending institutions like BT Leasing to be able to act and achieve financial inclusion. BT Leasing has the expertise, capacity and infrastructure to reach businesses across the country in a sustainable way."

Ionut Morar, Managing Director of BT Leasing, said: "This is the second loan from the European Fund for South East Europe, the first one being carried out between 2007-2012. With this new solution we will be able to support entrepreneurs in Romania, especially micro-companies and SMEs, given that financial leasing is the easiest form of investment financing for such companies."

About the European Fund for South-Eastern Europe

The European Fund for South East Europe (EFSE) was set up by the KfW Development Bank (KfW) with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Commission. Its aim is to develop and support economic growth and prosperity in countries such as Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine and Turkey.

As access to finance is a key factor in the development of micro, small and medium sized entrepreneurial segments, EFSE focuses on helping local financial sectors to improve their ability to provide adequate and sustainable finance. EFSE financing provides long-term finance for micro and small enterprises (SMEs) - as well as for private households in the form of livelihood improvement loans - to these clients borrowing through local partners, namely lending institutions. EFSE's investment activities are supported by the EFSE Development Facility, which provides partner credit institutions with technical assistance, consultancy and training services to build operational capacity and professional management.   

Established by the KfW Development Bank (KfW) on 15 December 2005 through four multi-grant programmes coordinated by KfW, EFSE is the first public-private partnership of its kind and the first privately managed financial development fund to raise private finance for SMEs in the target regions.

The capital is provided by donor agencies, international financial institutions and private institutional investors, including the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Commission (EC), the Government of Albania, the Small and Medium-Sized Business Support Institution CJSC (SMBCS), a subsidiary of the Central Bank of Armenia, Austrian Development Bank (Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank, OeEB), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Danish International Development Agency (Danida), KfW as lead investor, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Netherlands Finance Corporation (FMO), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), and Deutsche Bank.