KEP Trust, a microfinance institution based in Kosovo, recently agreed to borrow up to EUR 4 million (USD 4.4 million) from the multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). KEP Trust plans to on-lend the proceeds of the senior, unsecured loan to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Founded in 1999 as the Kosovo Enterprise Program, the microfinance institution has 31 branches from which it lends to MSMEs, agricultural projects and individuals. It also sponsors AgroPortal, a website that provides data, job listings and other information to farmers. As of 2022, KEP Trust reported a gross loan portfolio of EUR 72 million (USD 79 million), having generated return on assets of 4.8 percent and return on equity of 14 percent during the year. As of August 2023, the microlender has 28,000 active clients.
Founded in 1991, EBRD aims to further “market-oriented economies and the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative” in Eurasia and North Africa. It is based in the UK and is owned by 71 countries, the EU and the European Investment Bank. During 2022, EBRD disbursed investments of EUR 13 billion (USD 14 billion), ending the year with total assets of EUR 30 billion (USD 32 billion). As of May 2023, EBRD has a portfolio of EUR 332 million (USD 356 million) invested in Kosovo.
By James Stevenson, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
EBRD press release
https://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/projects/psd/54744.html
KEP homepage
https://keptrust.org/
AgroPortal homepage
https://agroportal-ks.com/
KEP annual report for 2022
https://keptrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Annual-report-2022.pdf
EBRD listing of investments in Kosovo
https://www.ebrd.com/kosovo-data.html
EBRD 2022-2027 strategy for Kosovo
https://www.ebrd.com/strategy-and-policy-coordination/strategy-for-kosovo.pdf
EBRD investments, 1991-2022
https://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/ebrd-investments.xlsx
Previous MicroCapital article on EBRD
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-reefy-microfinance-borrows-6-5m-from-ebrd-for-youth-led-msmes-in-egypt/
Previous MicroCapital article on KEP Trust
https://www.microcapital.org/37999-2/
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