Credo Bank has joined the EU4Business-EBRD initiative, where Georgian small and medium-sized enterprises operating in agriculture, food production, food and service quality improvement, and private laboratories can receive preferential loans for the development of production.
According to JSC Credo Bank, the credit line is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses “invest in new equipment, including green technologies, in order to improve product quality in accordance with EU standards and increase their competitiveness.”
Besides Credo Bank, the participants of the Credit Line EU4Business-EBRD initiative implemented in Georgia since 2016 are the Bank of Georgia, TBC Bank, Procredit Bank, BasisBank, and TBC Leasing.
Khatuna Akhalaya, head of the EU4Business-EBRD credit line, told EastFruit that the peculiarity of the credit line is that in case of successful development of a target loan, from 10% to 15% of the loan amount is returned to the recipient’s bank account in the form of a grant. The maximum loan amount is 3 million EUR. The size of the grant depends on the amount and purpose of the loan.
“If only equipment, like a refrigeration unit, is purchased, the grant is usually 10% of the loan amount. But, say, if a producer takes a large loan – $50 000, $100 000 or more – to buy equipment and for construction, 15% will be returned to him,” she explained.
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According to Khatuna Akhalaya, to join the initiative, a farmer or a company willing to take a loan for the development of their enterprise must apply to one of the banks in the program, write an application and attach the required documents. The documents must contain, among other things, a detailed description of what the borrower wants to purchase. For example, if he buys equipment, he must provide an invoice and confirmation that it complies with EU standards. The documentation is sent to the management of the Credit Line, and if approved, the bank issues a loan. After disbursing the loan, the producer submits a report and fills out a grant form. When the grant is approved, the corresponding amount is returned to his account.
Khatuna Akhalaya noted that the Credit Line initiative provides consulting to producers.
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