Phase 3 of EFSE-FED Invest-Dutch Government-Rabo Partnerships PPP kicked off

The partnership aims to enhance financial inclusion and strengthening of the agricultural value chains through extension of new products and services – enabling new digital capabilities recently developed within FED invest as part of its mission serve the rural economy of Albania.

The new phase of the partnership is designed to support FED invest in realising its growth strategy; and to develop new product/service propositions largely based on digital delivery mechanisms and in line with the needs and requirements of FED invest’s prospective client base. Effectively, this will translate into making financial services available to a larger part of the (rural) population and increasing the depth of service of FED invest to its members – introducing programs for special focus groups, deploying the payment services for day-to-day use by the members, and preparing for the increased scale of operations in terms of organisation, capitalisation and access to financial markets.

FED invest and its project partners are very proud to continue the relationships which started already in 2014, providing significant impact to the development of the Albanian rural economy. The new phase of the partnership was launched through a first steering committee meeting with all project partners at Tirana International hotel.

FED invest Credit and Savings Association is the first pioneering microfinance institution established in Albania as a spin-off of a pilot World Bank initiative in 1992. FED invest represents a financial cooperative organization with more than 79 thousand members served through 62 branches across the country. FED invest members include farmers, small entrepreneurs, and rural & urban families excluded from banking financial services. As a leader in providing affordable financial solutions to the rural population, FED invest has a direct impact on the socio-economic development of Albania, with over 160 thousand loans and half a billion euros injected in the economy throughout its 29 years of existence. For more information about the FED invest, please visit https://www.fedinvest.al.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the channel through which the Dutch Government communicates with foreign governments and international organisations. It coordinates and carries out Dutch foreign policy. The Ministry has two halves: its headquarters in the Hague and its missions abroad (embassies, consulates and permanent representations).

More information: https://www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-foreign-affairs/about-the-ministry.

The Development Facility European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) was initiated by KfW Development Bank with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Commission. It aims to foster economic development and prosperity in 16 countries in Southeast Europe and the European Eastern Neighbourhood. As access to finance is a key to successfully developing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the fund seeks to improve the ability of local financial sectors to ensure adequate and sustainable financing. Although it offers funding for private households in the form of home improvement loans, EFSE primarily provides long-term finance for MSMEs. Funds are channelled to these loan customers through local partner lending institutions.

Initiated by KfW in 2005 from four multi-donor programs under its management, the EFSE was the first public private partnership of its kind and the first privately managed fund in development finance to leverage private funding for MSME finance in the target region. Oppenheim Asset Management Services S.à r.l., Luxembourg acts as the EFSE’s Fund Manager and Finance in Motion GmbH, Germany as Advisor. For more information about the European Fund for Southeast Europe, please visit: http://www.efse.lu/.