The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) has provided a top-up local currency loan equivalent to EUR 5 million to Agroprosperis Bank in Ukraine for on-lending to agricultural enterprises. The facility is a timely response to the robust credit demand amid a high agricultural season. It will further strengthen the bank’s ability to continue serving otherwise underbanked small businesses in the country, supplying much-needed financing in local currency to the farmers and agricultural producers that make an important contribution to food security, employment, and economic stability. 

Agroprosperis Bank is a specialized bank in Ukraine that focuses on lending to small and medium-sized agricultural producers. This is EFSE’s second loan to the bank, continuing a partnership that began in January 2019 and which has already facilitated the disbursement of an aggregate EUR 10.8 million to small and mediumsized farmers. A member of AP Group, one of the largest agricultural producers in the country, Agroprosperis Bank is well equipped to help its client base confront the economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis by providing longer-term financing and tailored repayment schedules. 

EFSE Board Chairman Christoph Tiskens said: “Agroprosperis Bank has already proven its strong commitment to helping EFSE extend financial inclusion to underserved local farmers. Especially now, as smaller enterprises rely on stable financial infrastructure to help see them through challenging times, EFSE is proud to reaffirm the partnership with this impactful institution.” 

Agroprosperis Bank CEO Serhii Shchepanskyi commented: “We highly respect EFSE’s firm commitment to supporting micro and small enterprises and are pleased to collaborate with them to provide Ukrainian farmers with the necessary financing. Under pandemic conditions and quarantine restrictions, agricultural producers work twice as hard to ensure national and world food security, and the problem of sufficient and timely funding becomes for them even more acute.” 

EFSE’s continued support for its partners has been boosted by an additional generous contribution from the European Commission.