The FINANCIAL — The Republic of Korea is stepping up its support for the EBRD’s Women in Business programme with a financial package to enhance and widen the initiative’s impact.
A €2 million grant will support the launch of a dedicated framework for female-led business in Romania, while an additional US$ 3 million grant will provide technical assistance in the Bank’s regions, according to the EBRD.
Romania’s women entrepreneurs, especially women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), continue to suffer from a lack of access to finance, business training and collateral, as well as experience in financial planning. They are also found to be less able than men to benefit from business referrals, connections and valuable market information. The EBRD’s Women in Business programme will address these challenges and support women entrepreneurs to overcome the obstacles they currently face.
The major components of the Women in Business-programme are providing loans to women-led SMEs via local partner banks, business advice through the EBRD Business Advisory programme and support through skills training, business coaching and networking events.
Banks taking part in the programme will benefit from technical assistance to develop financial and non-financial products tailored to women.
Korea’s donor contribution is made through the EBRD’s Small Business Impact Fund, which is also supported by Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Sweden, Switzerland, Taipei China and the USA.
In addition, Korea is providing US$ 3 million for the EBRD’s technical cooperation activities in a wide range of sectors and countries.
The signing of the grant agreements took place today at the 2018 EBRD Annual Meeting in Jordan in the presence of the Deputy Minister of the Republic of Korea, Byungkoo Kim, and the EBRD’s Vice President, Policy and Partnerships, Pierre Heilbronn.
The Republic of Korea is a founding member of the EBRD and an important contributor to the Bank’s work. As a donor, Korea focuses on Central Asia, eastern Europe and the southern and eastern Mediterranean and supports a wide range of activities in various sectors, from municipal and environmental infrastructure and energy efficiency to small business and financial sector support.
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