SME Finance Forum member, the European Investment Bank (EIB), signed a new loan with the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation “to further boost female economic inclusion and empowerment across the country.”

Accordingly, the EIB will provide a €30 million long term loan to the Ethiopia Women Entrepreneurship Development Project (WEDP) also funded by the World Bank (WB), which supports micro and small enterprises owned or partly owned by women entrepreneurs.

“This will address a major obstacle, especially for women encountering a lack of access to finance for their firms. They are often excluded by commercial banks due to the relatively small loan size they need and the excessive collateral requirements,” the bank said in a statement.