MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $22m to Fibabanka of Turkey to Support Micro-, Small-scale Agriculture

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently announced it has loaned Fibabanka, a Turkish commercial bank, EUR 20 million (approximately USD 22 million) to finance micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) working in the Turkish agricultural sector. Fibabanka previously received a loan for MSEs from EFSE in 2012. EFSE will also provide technical assistance to Fibabanka’s agricultural financing staff.

Emre Ergun, Fibabanka’s assistant general manager for retail and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), noted “As of March 2016, we have been offering our services to the [agricultural] sector in 10 cities through 13 branches. While providing favourable solutions to the financial requirements of our farmers and agricultural enterprises with our Agricultural Banking team, which is made up mostly of agricultural engineers, we are also aiming to contribute to fostering Turkey’s agricultural production. We believe this facility obtained from EFSE will speed up our pace of growth”.

For the financial year ended December 2014, Fibabanka reported total assets of TRY 8 billion (approximately USD 2 billion) and net income of TRY 82 million (approximately USD 27 million). As of 2015, EFSE reported a gross loan portfolio of EUR 879 million (approximately USD 992 million).

By Imke Herholdt, Research Associate

About European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE)
The Luxembourg-based European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) focuses on the development of local financial sectors in Southeast Europe and parts of Central Asia by providing “long-term” funding for micro- and small enterprises as well as private households via partner retail institutions. EFSE also operates the EFSE Development Facility, which provides technical assistance, consulting and training services to support capacity building within these institutions. EFSE was established in 2005 by German Development Bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (which is also known by its German acronym BMZ) and the EU’s European Commission. The fund is privately managed, with Oppenheim Asset Management Services of Luxembourg acting as fund manager and Finance in Motion GmbH of Germany acting as fund advisor. EFSE operates in 16 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. As of 2015, EFSE holds a microfinance label from Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an NGO that certifies that social investment vehicles actually invest as advertised. As of 2015, EFSE reported a gross loan portfolio of EUR 879 million (approximately USD 992 million).

About Fibabanka AS:
Fibabanka is a Turkish commercial bank that operates 68 branches in the country. Known as Millennium Bank as until 2011, the bank is a subsidiary of Turkey’s Fiba Holding AS. For the financial year ended December 2014, Fibabanka reported total assets of TRY 8 billion (approximately USD 2 billion) and net income of TRY 82 million (approximately USD 27 million).

Sources and Additional Resources
[1] EFSE press release: EFSE, Fibabanka to Support Turkish Farming
[2] MicroCapital Universe Profile: European Fund for Southeast
[3] Fibabanka

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