The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) is helping specialised agriculture lender FED Invest provide liquidity to Albanian farmers with a €3mn loan, EFSE said on February 1. 

The investment will enable EFSE and FED Invest to help small agricultural businesses face the challenges of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “By increasing the availability of loans to agricultural micro and small enterprises, EFSE and FED Invest aim to equip rural farmers with the resources they need to weather the crisis,” EFSE said. 

Agriculture is an important part of the Albanian economy, accounting for 20% of GDP but employing around half of the workforce. 

“EFSE and FED Invest have worked tirelessly for years to make financial resources available to the hard-working farmers of Albania. The ongoing COVID crisis makes our collaborative efforts even more pressing, as small businesses grapple with the fallout of the global pandemic. Together, we will continue making a difference for vulnerable groups, while simultaneously boosting economic development in the country,” said EFSE board chairperson Klaus Muller. 

FED Invest, a strategic partner of EFSE since 2014, is the leading, and in some places only, source of business financing for small agricultural producers and businesses in rural Albania.

“The support provided by EFSE has been in providing long-term financing that enables FED Invest to grow its customer base by focusing on small enterprise segment as well as funding and expertise for the transformation and consolidation of FED Invest into a financial co-operative that provides a wide range of financial and non-financial products for its members,” said FED Invest CEO Perlat Sulaj.