IFC gives EUR 35 mln to Garanti Bank Romania, mainly to finance women-led businesses

The International Finance Corporation IFC recently approved a EUR 35 million loan to Garanti Bank Romania to finance small and medium businesses in the country. Most of the funding, EUR 20 million, will go to companies owned or managed by women. This is IFC’s second loan to Garanti specifically designed to support women entrepreneurs in Romania. In 2012, IFC provided a EUR 22.5 million loan to Garanti to back more than 160 small and medium companies in the textile industry, trade, construction, tourism, and services. There are more than 400,000 women entrepreneurs in Romania, representing about a third of shareholders and associates in local firms. “Garanti Bank has been supporting entrepreneurs, with a focus on women-led small and medium-sized enterprises, for the past four years,” said Ufuk Tandogan, CEO Garanti Bank Romania. Romania became an IFC member in 1990. The financial institution has invested a total of USD 2.2 billion in the country since then. editor@romania-insider.com