Donors help us make a real difference across the range of sector activities, from infrastructure financing to small business support, from developing financial institutions to addressing climate change. Read about our work in each strategic area.
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The EBRD has a growing portfolio targeted at promoting clean energy production, resource efficiency and increased resilience to the effects of climate change. For example, we help commercial banks to lend confidently for energy efficiency projects and invest in large renewable-energy infrastructure. We also provide expert advice to homeowners and small firms seeking to cut their energy bills and assist regulators in introducing sustainable energy frameworks.
Global demand for increased investment to tackle the effects of climate change continues to rise. In this context the Bank launched its Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) in 2006 to combine finance, technical cooperation (TC) and policy dialogue for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Since then the SEI has developed into the Sustainable Resource Initiative (SRI), and it has made over €15 billion of investments.
Such results were possible thanks to the establishment of vibrant partnerships with donors. Since the SEI started, donors have provided substantial resources for technical assistance, grant and concessional co-financing and risk-sharing instruments. The constant growth of donor climate finance has supported vital investments in private sector projects and helped boost the sustainable use of energy.
The EBRD manages dedicated donor partnerships encompassing bilateral and multi-donor funds as well as larger intermediary funds such as the Global Environment Facility, the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) and the Special Climate Change Fund.
Between 2006 and 2014 we mobilised almost €1 billion in donor climate finance. Global intermediary funds, from which the EBRD has received resources since 2008, contributed almost half this amount. The Bank is also closely involved in the emerging global donor architecture that will determine the EBRD’s operational relationship with the Green Climate Fund.
The European Union has co-financed SEI/SRI activities with €168 million since 2006, including grants of €47 million from its Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) and €33 million from its Investment Facility for Central Asia (IFCA). It is also the largest donor to the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P) Fund, with contributions totalling €45 million. In 2014 E5P Fund donors pledged over €15 million in grants for Ukraine (where 15 investments are improving district heating systems and energy efficiency) and almost €8 million for Armenia, Georgia and Moldova, where similar investments are being developed.
Bilateral donors such as Austria, Germany, Sweden and Taipei China have contributed €329 million to the SEI, representing one-third of all donor support for the Bank’s work in sustainable energy. Targeted bilateral support is highly valuable in achieving specific objectives in countries that are not sufficiently covered by other funding resources. For example, technical cooperation (TC) funding from Finland is supporting the implementation of an investment to modernise district heating infrastructure in the Kazakh city of Semey. Donor funding and EBRD investments have also led to an estimated CO2 emissions reduction of 7.3 million tonnes in 2014 alone – comparable to the annual emissions of three million cars.
Donor partnerships do not just provide financial resources. They also encourage dialogue and collaboration to promote sustainable energy use and help change behaviour for a greener future. For instance, the United Kingdom (UK) funded early studies on adaptation to climate change, enabling the EBRD to systematically integrate climate risk assessments and adaptation measures into investment operations.
A good example of how the Bank creates donor synergies is the Qairokkum hydropower refurbishment in Tajikistan. The project supports the country’s main power plant in managing the anticipated glacial melting and changes in precipitation while maintaining power supplies for the future. The US$ 75.7 million operation has been supported by TC grants from Austria, the UK and the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund, together with a grant and concessional loan contribution from the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs). Resources from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and CIFs are also boosting the Ukraine Sustainable Energy Lending Facility (USELF) that supports small and medium-sized renewable hydro, biomass, biogas and solar energy projects.
Thanks to its donors, the EBRD is a strong player in global climate finance and works to innovate, share knowledge and achieve a lasting, positive impact.
Modern infrastructure and efficient municipal services have a daily impact on people’s quality of life. They are vital for building a vibrant economy in which firms can thrive and invest. That is why we work with our donors to develop this sector across the whole region in which we work, from central and eastern Europe to Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the southern and eastern Mediterranean.
In 2014 several regional seminars helped spread technical and financial know-how in the municipal and environmental infrastructure (MEI) sector across the EBRD region. One such event in Belgrade, Serbia, that was funded by Norway attracted over 100 participants from the Western Balkans, including representatives from water and wastewater companies, donors, sector specialists and government officials.
Swedish funding supported a similar seminar in Armenia, targeting solid-waste managers in early transition countries (ETCs). The event presented a unique opportunity to share experience, discuss common challenges and acquire knowledge for future projects.
EBRD donors continue to generously back activities directly supporting improvements in the municipal sector of the ETCs. Sweden contributed around €10.7 million to a programme aimed at helping several ETCS (and Western Balkan countries) upgrade their infrastructure and adapt to the effects of climate change.
In Central Asia the EBRD is continuing to improve people’s lives by extending access to water supplies and upgrading wastewater infrastructure. With support from Austria, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the EU’s Investment Facility for Central Asia, the Bank is entering the second phase of its work programme in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, and in over 20 Tajik cities.
However, the need for investments in municipal services is widespread across the ETC region. That is why the EU Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) has funded a solid waste project in Yerevan, Armenia, and a water utilities development project benefiting around 190,000 people in northern Moldova with investment grants.
The EBRD has continued to upgrade major international transport links. For example, the re-construction of two sections of national roads and the modernisation of the railway infrastructure in FYR Macedonia is expected to boost trade and cross-border cooperation in the surrounding region. Both projects are supported by the Central European Initiative (CEI), with the latter benefiting from additional funding from the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).
The Bank is also supporting a major modernisation programme for Moldova Railways, in partnership with the EU Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF), the Czech Republic and the CEI. The EU provided a €5 million investment grant for the purchase of new multi-purpose locomotives and the modernisation of the rail infrastructure, while ongoing activities support broader reform to build a safer and more efficient railway sector.
In the power and energy sector the EBRD and its donors have helped to improve local skills through policy dialogue, capacity-building and project implementation.
For example, the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Multi-Donor Account (SEMED MDA) and the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund provided US$ 2 million to help the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company improve corporate governance and adopt international financial reporting standards.
In Kosovo, Norway funded a grant to help transmission operator KOSTT prepare for membership of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the powerhouse of a healthy market economy. They drive economic growth by creating jobs, promoting innovation and encouraging firms to become more competitive. The Bank supports SMEs in a number of different ways: through direct debt or equity financing, financing through local financial intermediaries, risk sharing, advisory services and policy dialogue.
Following a review of our SME activities, the Bank launched a dedicated strategic initiative in 2014 to bring together all of our services under a single umbrella called the Small Business Initiative (SBI).
The support channels offered by the SBI – investment through financial institutions, direct lending, advisory support and policy dialogue – are dependent on donor funding, which also encourages banks to lend more to small entrepreneurs and makes them more willing to take on risk.
At present the Bank uses approximately €60-70 million of grant funding to support €1.2 billion of investments in small firms. This includes business advice assignments to companies and a number of policy dialogue initiatives, such as business investment councils in the early transition countries (ETCs). The SBI is adopting a country-focused approach to ensure a mix of activities appropriate to the transition stage of each country.
In 2014 donors provided €11.8 million in technical cooperation (TC) funding to partner financial institutions offering finance facilities for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). TC projects were carried out in the Western Balkans and southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) countries, as well as in Poland, Turkey, Romania, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. The majority of funding was provided by the EU, Sweden, SEMED Multi-Donor Account, Early Transition Countries (ETC) Fund, EBRD Shareholder Special Fund (SSF) and the United States of America. Furthermore, donors including the European Union and Taipei China made available over €700,000 to the Trade Facilitation Programme, which guarantees trade transactions for import and export-focused enterprises.
EBRD partners also benefit from longstanding facilities such as the Western Balkans Private Sector Support Facility (funded by the EU and the EBRD SSF), the EU-Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Finance Facility in Romania and the Turkey MSME Lending Programme (backed by the EU and US Agency for International Development). The EBRD Local Enterprise Facility (LEF) provides equity-based investments to help SMEs in the Balkans, Turkey, and the SEMED region restructure and grow. LEF donors are Italy, the SEMED Multi-Donor Account and the SSF.
The Bank and donors — including the EU, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Sweden, the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD TC Fund, Turkey and the ETC Fund — also promote greater access to finance and know-how for women entrepreneurs through our Women in Business (WiB) programmes. These provide financial and technical support to commercial banks for on-lending to companies run by women, as well as helping women entrepreneurs with tailored business advice. WiB programmes are active in 15 countries where the EBRD invests.
The Bank’s Small Business Support programme connects SMEs with expert advice on business strategy, quality management, marketing, export promotion and energy efficiency. The cost is shared by the Bank, its donors and the client, and in 2014 more than 1,900 projects were carried out across 25 countries in the EBRD region. Whether helping a Macedonian information technology company enhance its management effectiveness, assisting a Kyrgyz clothing manufacturer upgrade to computer-based design or enabling a Western Ukrainian medical centre to modernise its human resources and accountancy practices, the EBRD can provide small businesses with the know-how necessary for growth.
EBRD donors have continued to support our work in strengthening financial institutions and providing access to finance for hundreds of thousands of firms. Their contributions help local institutions to raise their skill levels, introduce new products and promote better corporate governance and risk management. They also complement EBRD credit lines, helping to attract previously underserved potential clients.
As part of the Small Business Initiative (SBI), the EBRD launched dedicated Women in Business (WiB) programmes in various countries in 2014. These help women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access finance and partner banks to develop financial products specifically tailored to their entrepreneurial needs. They also draw on the Bank’s successful work with local financial intermediaries in boosting loan impacts and helping companies to access business know-how.
In Turkey WiB credit lines totalling €300 million are supported by EU and Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security funding of €32.3 million and €5.7 million, respectively. Similarly, in the Western Balkans EBRD loans to local financial institutions amounting to €20 million are supported by Sweden, Luxembourg and the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund (SSF).
The EBRD is also assisting the National Bank of Egypt with a US$ 20 million loan to reach out to women-led businesses and tackle the specific challenges that they face in that country. In Egypt the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) Multi-Donor Account and the SEMED Cooperation Funds Account back the WiB programme with additional funding.
With the help of our donors, the Bank has also extended its activities under our sustainable energy financing facilities (SEFFs). The Caucasus Energy Efficiency Programme, supported by the EU’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility and Austria, expanded its operations in Azerbaijan in 2014.
The EBRD also launched a second Polish SEFF with funding of €200 million, which is on-lent through local banks to SMEs. The Facility is complemented by investment grants provided by Poland and EU-funded technical cooperation.
Furthermore, Mongolia’s first SEFF was introduced and the first programmes to support resource efficiency financing in Turkey and Tajikistan were launched. In 2014, 25 such SEFFs were active in 21 countries, supporting over 73,000 loans which help save 12 million MWh per year – equivalent to the estimated annual electricity consumption of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The EBRD and its donors also continue to support reforms and policies which contribute to strengthening financial markets and encourage the use of local currency. To this end the Bank’s Local Currency and Local Capital Markets Initiative brings together investment operations, technical cooperation, policy dialogue and collaboration with other IFIs. For example, we helped the Bulgarian, Macedonian and Croatian stock exchanges establish a joint stock company for the development of less fragmented and more liquid capital markets in south-eastern Europe.
Donor contributions are also helping the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme to boost and guarantee trade transactions, including through the successful e-learning programme and workshops to strengthen the trade finance skills and practices of partner financial institutions.
Meanwhile, the Bank is deploying technical cooperation funds to help stabilise the Ukrainian banking sector. For example, the EU Neighbourhood Investment Facility has provided funding to support the National Bank of Ukraine with its reorganisation and debt restructuring.
As the world’s population continues to grow, so too does global food demand. Our Private Sector for Food Security Initiative addresses food security challenges by supporting the private sector’s role in production and distribution, improving quality standards and animal welfare practices to enhance product value and increasing efficiency through a more sustainable approach to agribusiness food-production chains.
Donor funding for the Initiative has totalled approximately €14.35 million since its inception in 2011, with €4.7 million committed in 2014 alone. The donors are Denmark, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, the SEMED and Ukraine multi-donor accounts (MDAs), the Early Transition Countries Fund, the EU Neighbourhood Investment Facility, the Central European Initiative and the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund.
The Initiative has made strides towards higher-quality production in 2014. The EBRD became the first international financial institution to adopt legally binding animal welfare criteria in its agribusiness investments, which are currently being implemented in Turkey. With funding from Japan, we are also helping Ukrainian pig producers counter African swine fever through raising awareness and preparing response measures. In addition, the Ukraine dairy industry’s platform for public-private sector dialogue enabled the adoption of a law that supports animal disease prevention and promotes dairy exports. With funding from Luxembourg, we are helping Serbian and Montenegrin meat producers and horticulturalists to establish origin-based labelling as a quality standard.
In support of value-added food exports from Tunisia and Morocco, the Bank is engaging with private companies to improve the quality and efficiency of production in the horticulture sector. Although production costs for olive oil and other commodities are lower in these two countries than in the European Union, weaker technologies and less efficient use of resources limit competitiveness.
One-third of global food production is wasted, adding to pressures on food systems. This is particularly so in countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region. We therefore focus on helping both producers and consumers to minimise food losses and waste along the value chain through targeted investments supported by training and workshops for farmers and government officials.
Grain is at the heart of food security for SEMED countries, which import approximately half of their cereal needs. Egypt is the world’s largest buyer of grain. A study by the EBRD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has highlighted investment opportunities for the private sector to address grain import inefficiencies that cause delays and distortions. With funding from the SEMED MDA, the Bank and FAO collaborated with private companies and the government to promote policy dialogue in Egypt’s grain sector and tackle technical and policy barriers to imports.
Since its inception the Initiative has linked importers and exporters and introduced them to new markets to boost trade. The Black Sea region is a case in point: the EBRD and FAO continue to facilitate public-private working groups to ensure transparency in the grain sector and help the region to reach its potential. The Bank’s successful engagement in Ukraine’s grain sector is being replicated in Kazakhstan with funding from the government. It aims to improve grain market transparency, advance export logistics and boost private investment in the sector.
“Give someone a fish and you feed them for a day; teach them to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.” This ancient proverb explains why EBRD activities include the promotion of practices that contribute to long-term economic prosperity, environmental protection and social progress.
The Bank cares about sustainable development. That is why we have an Environmental and Social Policy that investments must comply with. It is also why, with donor support, we build local awareness and capacity to address related issues, including health and safety. To this end, in 2014 we committed €1.3 million of donor funds to technical cooperation projects. For example, we organised a conference on responsible mining in Armenia, sharing expertise in corporate social responsibility and environmental challenges with government officials, civil society, sector experts and mining companies. These stakeholders formed a working group which meets regularly.
Donors also support our work with governments and regulators that targets reforms to boost innovation, remove bureaucracy and attract investments in key economic sectors. This policy dialogue is fundamental to achieving sustainability. In 2014 we launched the Investment Climate and Governance Initiative to address challenges arising, for instance, from corruption, insufficient private-public dialogue, a weak judiciary and inadequate business regulations.
Policy dialogue for a better business environment is a pillar of the newly-established Ukraine Stabilisation and Sustainable Growth Multi-Donor Account (MDA), to which Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States have made €10.4 million available in grants. The MDA is supporting Ukraine’s first Business Ombudsman Institution, which is both independent and independently-funded.
The EBRD’s legal reform activities, delivered through the Bank’s Legal Transition Programme, focus on the development of laws and institutions upon which a vibrant market-oriented economy depends. The Programme identifies and overcomes legal impediments to investments, including addressing the challenges faced by investors engaged in financial transactions in transition countries in relation to, among other things, capital markets, corporate governance, insolvency and access to finance.
In 2014 almost €6 million of donor funds were committed to 23 projects. For example, funding from the SEMED MDA is helping regulators in Morocco to introduce a secured transactions reform, making access to finance much easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
There are no shortcuts to achieving sustainable change. The EBRD and its donors remain committed to it for the long run.
Through investments and other donor-funded activities the Bank is committed to addressing socio-economic exclusion and gender inequality. Equal opportunities for women and men contribute to the efficient use of all resources and are an essential aspect of a modern, well-functioning economy. Similarly, opening up economic opportunities to previously underserved social groups is a winning strategy for sustainable development in the countries of our region.
To tackle these challenges, the EBRD has set out its Strategic Gender Initiative and its approach to economic inclusion, which promote equal opportunities, improve training and routes into work for young people and boost entrepreneurship for women and in less developed regions. Technical cooperation projects funded by donors, including the EU, Korea, Luxembourg, Sweden and Taipei China, help foster systemic change by introducing gender and inclusion considerations into our investments. This results in better employment opportunities, greater access to finance, and improved customer and municipal services and human resource practices.
In 2014 the Bank undertook 23 donor-funded projects worth €2.46 million for economic inclusion and gender activities linked to its investments. For example, Korea funded the development of Egypt’s first employer-led retail skills academy to train young job-seekers at the Mall of Arabia retail and entertainment centre in 6th of October City. Also in Egypt, SEMED MDA funds helped Juhayna, a dairy and juice producer, implement the best equal opportunity practices to enhance career opportunities for women.
TOTAL €138,672,257
Donor partnerships continued to help us reach out to entrepreneurs, policy-makers and communities in our region to improve their environment and their economies.
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Donors operate in all countries where the EBRD works, with a greater focus on the Western Balkans, the early transition countries and the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region. Check our activities by geographic area.
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Early transition countries
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Western Balkans
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European Union members
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Southern and eastern Mediterranean
Other Official Development Assistance countries
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