Today, Germany via the German Develoment Bank KfW allocated an additional 6 Mio EUR to the Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund (KCGF) to the new „Green Recovery Window“ to further ease the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Through the „Green Window“ new guarantees can be issued to partner financial institutions for the benefit of micro, small and medium enterprises, in particular in the fields of energy efficiency, resource efficiency and investments in renewable energy. The Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, and German Ambassador Jörn Rohde participated in the signing ceremony.

Minister of Finance Hekuran Murati said: Our governing program prioritizes quality investment planning aiming sustainable development and integrated infrastructure in line with a clean environment, well-being and mobility. Therefore, the agreement signed today between KCGF and KfW represents an important step in supporting investments in energy efficiency and diversification of energy resources in Kosovo that in addition to directly reflect on increasing social welfare and increasing national security, also play a role important in increasing employment and sustainable economic development of the country.

Ambassador Rohde said on the occasion: „Germany is one of Kosovo’s strongest partner in ensuring a stable and modern financial sector – be it through the establishment of the first bank in country, the ProCredit Bank, or the Deposit Insurance Fund. To the successful Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund, Germany has furthermore allocated a total of 24.95 million EUR, of which 6 Million EUR are being committed today for the new „Green Recovery Window“. It will support Kosovan small and medium sized companies to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy and create – despite the pandemic – a significant number of new jobs.“

Rinor Gjonbalaj – Chair of the Board KCGF said: „It has been five years since the first credit guarantees were approved by KCGF. Over the last 5 years, we have supported more than 8,000 MSMEs with access to finance. We have guaranteed more than 360M in business loans. We have helped create more than 14,000 new jobs. We have created different guarantee windows to help different segments of the economy from agrobusinesses to manufacturers, and from women in businesses to startups. Today, KCGF is recognized as a leading independent financial organization, and a valuable partner of national and international institutions. KCGF would not be here, standing with all these achievements and results without the continuous support from our valuable partners and donors. Through our excellent partnership with RFIs, excellent management and highly professional team – we have

managed to increase our equity capital, increase our guarantee portfolio, made the Fund a sustainable Institution, and what is most important, together we made a difference, enabling positive financial and economic impact in the country.“

The Governor of the Central Bank Mr Femhi Mehmeti said: „Bank lending continues to be a very important and sustainable source of private sector financing in Kosovo. Despite the satisfactory trend of increasing bank lending, the level of financial intermediation in Kosovo continues to be below the average of countries in the region, which shows that, in relation to the size of the economy, there is further room for expansion of lending activity. The Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund plays an important role in filling this space, which through its guarantee mechanism can enable the increase of lending and ease of access to credit for sectors and who without this service would have find it difficult or even impossible to secure access to credit financing.“