The European Investment Bank (EIB) – the EU’s lending arm – will provide a €400,000 grant for technical assistance support to the Investment and Development Fund of Montenegro (IDF). The grant will strengthen the IDF’s capacity to provide financial services for the benefit of Montenegro’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), helping them maintain liquidity, expand their investments, and sustain and create inclusive, long-term jobs. With this technical assistance, the EIB is supporting the IDF in the improvement of its organisational and business model to bring its structure in line with best international practice for national development banks.

The EIB grant aims to accelerate the recovery and growth of the private sector in Montenegro and create new job opportunities, especially for young people, women and people from other vulnerable social groups. The grant stems from the Economic Resilience Initiative, set up by the EIB in 2016 to mobilise financing for faster growth, job creation, social cohesion and the development of vital infrastructure projects in the Western Balkans.

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the EIB has signed financing operations worth €100 million with the IDF, which has helped around 350 companies in Montenegro recover faster from the COVID-19 crisis. In 2021, the EIB signed its first loan with the IDF to support the introduction of energy-efficient practices and projects among SMEs in Montenegro, enabling a faster transition to a sustainable and circular economy in the country.