First COSME agreement in Bulgaria to provide €100 million for 1,000 SMEs

Today the first COSME agreement in Bulgaria was signed by the European Investment Fund (EIF) and CIBANK. The agreement benefits from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). It will allow CIBANK to provide BGN 200 million (around €100 million) of loans to SMEs in Bulgaria over the next three years.

The loans will be provided as a result of a guarantee from EIF under the COSME programme with financial backing from the European Commission.

The agreement will make it possible for CIBANK to support additional financing at favourable conditions to over 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

European Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva, responsible for Budget and Human Resources, said: “This is fantastic news for Bulgarian businesses and the Bulgarian economy. In a very difficult economic environment we need as much investment as possible. That is why we're using the EU budget to back BGN 200 million of lending to SMEs. I encourage companies to take advantage of these loans.”

Businesses can select their country and find practical information on how to get financing at www.access2finance.eu