As its first loan to a financial institution in Albania, the Austria-based OPEC Fund for International Development recently channeled EUR 20 million (USD 21.7 million) to the Albanian unit of Raiffeisen Bank to provide loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country. The scheme especially targets “women-led businesses and companies that are supporting food security or green energy projects.”
OPEC Fund’s Assistant Director, General Tareq Alnassar, said that the partnership will help “bolster the strategically important micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise sector, which is the engine of growth and job creation.”
The OPEC Fund was established in 1976 by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a group of 13 nations that cooperate on sales of petroleum products. The goal of the OPEC Fund is “to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world.” During 2022, the fund committed USD 1.6 billion to 48 projects in sectors including food, energy, infrastructure, water quality, sanitation, healthcare, education, employment and SMEs.
Raiffeisen Bank Albania is a subsidiary of Austria-based Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), which is active in the US and 27 countries in Eurasia. Launched in 2004 and headquartered in the city of Tirana, Raiffeisen Bank Albania has 74 branches serving “private individuals, microbusinesses, small businesses and corporate business.” In 2022, the bank reported gross loans of ALL 10.8 billion (USD 100 million), 50 percent of which were in the corporate segment. The bank also announced that 56 percent of the projects it supported during 2022 were in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals on health, climate action, quality education, and innovation and infrastructure.
By Hawra Moochhala, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
OPEC Fund press release
https://opecfund.org/media-center/press-releases/2023/opec-fund-20-million-loan-to-promote-access-to-finance-for-local-businesses-in-albania
Raiffeisen Bank homepage
https://www.raiffeisen.al/
Raiffeisen Bank financials
https://www.raiffeisen.al/en/about-us/Reports-and-Communications/Annual-Reports.html
RBI homepage
https://www.rbinternational.com/
RBI annual report (2022)
https://www.rbinternational.com/en/investors/reports/annual-reports/_jcr_content/root/responsivegrid/contentcontainer/contentbox/downloadlist_copy_68.download.html/0/Annual%20Report.pdf
OPEC Fund homepage
https://opecfund.org
UN’s Sustainable Development Goals homepage
https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Previous MicroCapital article on OPEC Fund
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-access-bank-botswana-borrows-20m-from-opec-fund-for-msmes-30-earmarked-for-women/
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