604
number of projects
The EFSE Development Facility provides customised technical assistance, training, and other support to institutions, organisations, and individuals across the financial sector and the wider ecosystem. By expanding capacities, opening up access to resources, promoting best practices for sustainable finance, and more, the Development Facility multiplies the impact and outreach of the fund, creating the conditions for sustainable entrepreneurship to thrive.
Key figures since the inception of the Development Facility in 2006
Whether by developing training workshops, holding awareness-raising events, or conducting impact studies, the EFSE Development Facility is active across the financial ecosystem.
Through our Entrepreneurship Academy, we support startups from conception all the way to the growth stage. Moreover, we foster sustainable and responsible financing for micro, small and medium enterprises with projects covering a wide range of relevant topics.
The Development Facility works closely with the fund's investees to proactively identify their capacity building needs and develop a customized technical assistance package together. We also conduct impact studies to assess the market and measure the fund's progress toward our impact goals. And we hold high-level forums to bring together key sector players to discuss best practices in, for example, local currency financing.
Strengthening the financial and business infrastructure for micro, small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs across the EFSE region
The EFSE Entrepreneurship Academy is an initiative of the Development Facility that provides direct support to small businesses throughout Southeast Europe and the EU Eastern Neighbourhood Region. We work together with on-the-ground organisations, such as local incubators and accelerators, to supply entrepreneurs with training, resources, mentoring, networking opportunities, the chance to receive financial backing, and more. In this way, the EFSE Entrepreneurship Academy provides the self-employed with essential tools for success in the spirit of EFSE as The Entrepreneurship Fund.
Key figures since the inception of the Entrepreneurship Academy in 2016
The EFSE DF contributes to inclusive finance by supporting its partner lending institutions in their digitalisation journey and in the integration of digital technologies to increase their competitiveness, operational efficiency, and capacity to serve clients, while ensuring responsible data management.
The EFSE DF cooperates with regulators to develop innovation hubs and test innovative approaches, such as regulatory sandboxes to foster the advancement of financial technology.
Moreover, the EFSE DF supports ecosystem development to foster fintech startups that have the potential to expand access to finance for underserved groups. Fintechs are integral to the rise of exciting innovations within the financial sector.
The EFSE Development Facility supports these fintechs with:
The EFSE Development Facility offers financial support for trainings, exposure visits, or consultancy to help improve business operations, build capacities, and access business opportunities whilst continuing to focus on financial inclusion within underserved markets.
Building an ecosystem where entrepreneurs can thrive means fostering practices and innovations that address their needs. It also means helping local financial institutions stay abreast of market developments and fine-tune their operations. The EFSE Development Facility's approach therefore encompasses the following topics:
The EFSE Development Facility is supported by generous contributions from donors committed to the fund's impact objective as well as by income from EFSE itself. Institutions receiving technical assistance are required to contribute a cost share for the projects, and other partners often also share a portion of the costs, thereby leveraging the capacity of the Development Facility.
Bidders who have been invited to submit a proposal may download the procurement documents here: