ENPI EAST/ EU TO UNLOCK €2 BILLION WORTH OF INVESTMENT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN GEORGIA, MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE

At the Eastern Partnership Business Forum in Riga today, the European Commission launched
 the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Facility for Small and Medium
 Enterprises (SMEs).

 The Facility will provide some €200 million worth of grants from the EU budget over the next
 10 years. This contribution is expected to unlock new investments worth at least €2 billion for
 SMEs in the three DCFTA countries: Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The financial means for
 the investments will be largely coming from the European Bank for Reconstruction and
 Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
 
 The DCFTA Facility consists of a set of joint programmes – implemented by the EBRD and
 EIB – offering support to lower the risk for financial institutions of lending to SMEs, make
 local currency lending accessible, reduce the cost of investment for SMEs and provide them with business advisory services to make the most of the opportunities opened by the DCFTA...(link)