• EBRD local currency loan of BYN 11 million to support Belarusian SMEs
• Bank Dabrabyt joins EBRD local currency SME lending programme
• Loans with longer maturities and no FX-related risks

More opportunities to develop their business will open to Belarusian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) thanks to the provision of a new EBRD credit line to Bank Dabrabyt.

A local currency loan of BYN 11 million will be provided to the state-owned lender for the development of its small business lending operations. Loans in local currency will allow domestic SMEs to avoid exchange rate-related risk and will offer longer maturities.

Bank Dabrabyt is the latest financial institution in Belarus to join the EBRD’s local currency lending programme for SMEs. The bank has a network of 25 outlets across Belarus and serves almost 250,000 retail clients.

The loan agreement was signed in Minsk today during a visit by EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink, who praised the “excellent cooperation between Belarus businesses and the EBRD both in terms of quantity and quality”.

Since the start of its operations in Belarus in 1992, the EBRD has invested almost €2.7 billion in 119 projects in various sectors of the country’s economy.