MOLDOVA SME RESILIENCE FACILITY - MAIB

The facility will provide long-term finance for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in Moldova.

The aim is to improve access to finance and financial inclusion to SMEs and mid-caps, which are key factors to reinforce economic resilience in the country.

The proposed loan to BC Moldova Agroindbank SA (MAIB) is the first sub-operation under the lending envelope Moldova SME Resilience Facility. The lending envelope aims to finance the activities of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and Mid-Caps in Moldova, with the goal of contributing to economic resilience, capital investment, employment generation, and alleviating the consequences of the war in neighbouring Ukraine. MSMEs account by far for most of the firms in the country, but their value addition and employment capacity are constrained, among other factors, by limited access to financial resources. In fact, the provision of adequate financing to MSMEs and Mid-Caps is hindered by market failures, namely externalities and information asymmetries. To address these shortfalls, the proposed operation will enhance access to finance for MSMEs and Mid-Caps, in that it will enable the selected financial intermediaries to make funding available at attractive terms and conditions, such as long tenors, flexible disbursements and local currency, which are scarce in the market. The financial intermediaries will also benefit from the signalling effect of partnering with the EIB, which would help them to attract interest by other DFIs and further diversify the sources of funding.  

The operation is consistent with EU external policy objectives (in particular the overarching priority to foster jobs and sustainable and inclusive growth), country development objectives and will contribute to a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), most notably SDG8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG10 (Reduced Inequalities). 

The intermediary institution has to take all the requisite measures to ensure that the procedures carried out by the final beneficiaries for the sub-projects will comply with national legislation and the ElB's Environmental and Social Standards as well as international treaties and conventions signed and ratified by or otherwise applicable and binding in the country.

The intermediary institution has to take all requisite measures to ensure that any procurement procedures carried out by final beneficiaries for the sub-projects are in accordance with the EIB's Guide to Procurement and the applicable EU public procurement rules.