European Investment Bank Supports SMEs in Serbia with EUR 200 Million

The minister of finance of Serbia, Sinisa Mali, and the vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Lilyana Pavlova, have signed a financial agreement which supports small and medium enterprises and medium-market-capitalization enterprises, to the end of mitigating the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Serbia announced. After the signing of the document, Mali said that it was worth EUR 200 million.

According to Mali, the money will be distributed through the Development Fund to those companies which have not yet received the money, in order to mitigate the negative consequences of the pandemic.

– So, each company which has applied for help through the Development Fund will get the money through this credit line – the minister said.

He said that the credits would be issued at very favorable conditions and specified that EUR 110 million was meant for the working assets, that is, as help for maintaining liquidity, whereas EUR 90 million was meant for investment activities, purchase and procurement of equipment, growth and development of companies, in order to further mitigate the negative consequences of the pandemic.

Emphasizing the importance of the agreement, Pavlova said that the goal was to provide financial support to the SMEs sector in a difficult economic situation by preserving their liquidity, working assets, and ensuring their full recovery.