Service offering

Financial instruments

The European Fund for Southeast Europe considers itself as a market-enabler. It serves as an incubator for financial innovations and accordingly, assists partner lending institutions - local commercial banks, microfinance institutions, other non-bank financial institutions, investment companies or funds based in the region of Southeast Europe, including the European Eastern Neighbourhood Region - to tap into new markets with a promising business potential. Thus, it ultimately expands their scope and scale of services for micro entrepreneurs and low-income households.

EFSE offers various financial instruments to respond to different long-term funding needs of partner lending institutions, including:

• medium to long-term senior loans,
• subordinated loans,
• term deposits,
• subscriptions to bond issues,
• co-investments (syndicated loans),
• standby letters of credit,
• guarantees, and
• equity and quasi-equity participations.

Currently, the products refinanced by EFSE include:

• micro and small enterprise loans,
• rural loans for micro and small enterprises located in rural areas or those engaged in agricultural activities, and
• housing loans to low-income private households

Technical assistance, consulting and training

Complementary to the financial investment activities of EFSE, partner lending institutions can benefit from technical assistance, consulting and training offered by the EFSE Development Facility. The EFSE Development Facility organizes and co-finances technical assistance, consulting and training in areas such as:

• Strategy and business planning
• Risk management,
• Financial management and controlling,
• Management information systems,
• Efficiency and cost management,
• Internal audit and internal control,
• Product development,
• Downscaling,
• Sales and marketing, and
• Responsible finance and client education.