On December 14th, 2020, the Albanian Developement Guarantee Foundation (ADGF) signed the financing agreement for a grant of EUR 6.8 million made available by the German Government, through the German Development Bank, KfW, for private sector support to counter the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funds provided by the German Government will be added to ADGF’s COVID-19 relief window and will promote access to finance for Albanian MSMEs in the form of a credit guarantee through local banks and non-bank financial institutions. The COVID-19 relief window will guarantee MSME working capital, investment loans and/or short-term liquidity in line with business needs.  These funds will support the businesses to get through the crisis in the short-term and allow for additional investments and also strengthen Albanian MSMEs and promote employment in the medium and long term.

Currently, ADGF partners with 5 local banks as well as 4 non-bank financial institutions. Since its establishment, ADGF has guaranteed a total number of 7500 loans for a total amount of EUR 30 million. These loans have contributed to the creation of approximately 4200 new jobs while preserving around 6800 existing ones.