The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed a €14 million guarantee with ProCredit Bank Bulgaria that will free up €50 million in green loans for small and medium businesses. The guarantee uses EU InvestEU program backing to help ProCredit lend more money for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Bulgaria and Greece. Both countries are working to build greener economies.
Small and medium businesses want to go green but can’t get the money they need. Banks often see energy efficiency upgrades or solar panels as too risky to finance, even though these investments usually pay for themselves over time. The EBRD guarantee changes this by taking on some of the risk, which makes ProCredit more comfortable lending to these projects.
ProCredit Bank Bulgaria is Bulgaria’s seventh-largest bank and already works with lots of small and medium companies. Now it can offer loans for green projects that meet EBRD’s standards – meaning they save energy and reduce carbon emissions, not just claim to be environmentally friendly.
The financing structure shows how international cooperation can work in practice. The EU provides partial risk coverage through its InvestEU Fund, while the EBRD offers the guarantee, and ProCredit does the actual lending to businesses. This shared approach spreads risk while maximizing impact.
The EBRD has invested nearly €4.8 billion across more than 300 projects in Bulgaria and holds an 8.7% stake in ProCredit’s parent company. The guarantee helps both countries work toward their national and EU climate targets while giving ProCredit more flexibility in its lending operations.
