RURAL FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT ETHIOPIA

The project will finance the agri-food/bioeconomy sector and rural development sector in support of the EU's Multiannual Indicative Programme (and in particular the Green Growth pillar under the Green Deal Priority Area) and IFAD's third Rural Financial Intermediation Programme. The EIB will provide a Multiple Beneficiary Intermediated Loan (MBIL) to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to be on-lent by the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) to final beneficiaries (small-holder farmers) either via Micro-finance Institutions (MFI), Rural Savings and Credit Cooperatives (RUSACCO's) or their Cooperative Unions.

The objective is to increase access to finance for rural households, particularly smallholder farmers and women, and to establish sustainable rural financial institutions. Additional positive impacts expected from the project include enhanced productivity and value addition, leading to higher incomes and employment. Consequently, it will contribute to improved food security.

This operation is expected to contribute to climate action, particularly in supporting resilience of rural communities to adverse weather events (e.g. droughts, floods, pests) thus contributing importantly to adaptation objectives. Furthermore final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.

Following standard EIB procedures for intermediated lending, the EIB will require participating intermediaries to take all the requisite measures to ensure that the procurement by the final beneficiaries is undertaken in line with applicable national and EU legislation, including the EIB Guide to Procurement.

The project is expected to contribute towards the achievement of SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 5 (Gender Equality and Empowerment), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 10 ? Reduced Inequalities, 13- Climate Action and 17 -Partnership and Goals; to which both the EU and the EIB are fully committed.