(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 16. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in partnership with the European Union (EU), is expanding access to finance for Moldovan businesses with 22.5 million euros in new funding under the EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line, Trend reports.

The financing will be channeled through maib (10 million euros), Victoriabank (7.5 million euros), and Eximbank (5 million euros), and on-lent to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Moldova.

The EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line supports projects that enhance competitiveness and capacity for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), helping them upgrade equipment, products, and services in line with EU standards and access international trade opportunities. At least 70 percent of the loans are expected to finance investments in green technologies.

Complementing the loans, EU grant funding will provide additional incentives for successful investment projects and consultancy support to both the banks and their clients.

Moldova, which gained EU candidate status in 2023, sees MSMEs as vital for sustainable economic growth, accounting for more than 98 percent of all businesses and employing 60 percent of the workforce. The new financing contributes to the EU Economic and Investment Plan, aimed at strengthening MSMEs in the country.

Maib, Moldova's largest bank with over 35 percent market share, has been an EBRD partner since 1995. Victoriabank, the country's third-largest bank, and Eximbank, a medium-sized bank owned by Intesa Sanpaolo, are also longstanding partners of the EBRD.

The EBRD is Moldova's largest institutional investor, having committed nearly 2.8 billion euros across 188 projects in the country to date.

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