IFC helps boost access to finance for smaller businesses and women entrepreneurs in Georgia

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced a long-term local currency loan of 100 million Georgian lari (about $35 million) to Bank of Georgia to help boost access to finance for smaller businesses and women entrepreneurs.

The investment is supported by the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility, a pioneering global initiative by IFC and the Goldman Sachs Foundation to expand access to capital for women entrepreneurs.

Access to finance is the second most-cited problem for businesses in Georgia, while small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up the majority of Georgian businesses, they receive only about 20 percent of bank lending. IFC estimates the total finance gap for SMEs in Georgia at $2.1 billion, with demand from women-owned enterprises accounting for 43 percent of the gap, according to the 2017 MSME Finance Gap Report.

IFC’s investment aims to address this by helping Bank of Georgia expand its crucial local currency lending to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), with a quarter of the loan earmarked for women-owned businesses.

Jan van Bilsen, IFC Regional Manager for the South Caucasus, said: “IFC is working with Bank of Georgia, our long-standing client, to help expand access to local currency financing, which is critical for the growth of smaller businesses. Those businesses are the engines of economic growth and women entrepreneurs are especially underserved. We aim to ensure all smaller firms get access to finance they need to grow, create jobs, and drive economic growth.”

To date, IFC has invested $1.4 billion and reached 53,000 women entrepreneurs in emerging markets through the Facility.

Original source: IFC
Published on 08 August 2019