European Investment Fund Loans $2.53 Million to Vitas to Support Microenterprises in Romania

European Investment Fund Loans $2.53 Million to Vitas via European Progress Microfinance to Support Microenterprises in Romania
By Simon Pfanner
This article originally appeared in MicroCapital.
The European Investment Fund, a member of the European Investment Bank Group providing financing to small and medium-sized enterprises, recently loaned EUR 2 million (USD 2.53 million) to Vitas, a Romanian microfinance institution, through European Progress Microfinance, a microfinance investment vehicle supported by the EU’s European Commission and the European Investment Bank. The loan will be used to provide funding to young Romanian microentrepreneurs who are unable to access traditional financial services.
Vitas’ General Manager, Cristian Jurma, was quoted saying, “This funding will allow us to expand our local-currency lending for the creation and development of micro-and small enterprises in the urban and rural areas of western and central Romania.” Vitas is a member of the Vitas Group, an organisation of microfinance institutions launched by US-based NGO Global Communities, which also has operations in Jordan and Lebanon.
As of 2012, Vitas had total assets of USD 8.7 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 7.7 million with 1,500 borrowers in Romania. Vitas does not accept deposits.
As of 2014, European Progress Microfinance has committed EUR 130 million (USD 164 million) in loans through 63 transactions since 2010. As of 2013, the European Investment Fund had total assets of EUR 1.47 billion (USD 1.87 billion).
About Vitas RomaniaVitas Romania was established in 1996 and is part of the Vitas Group, an organisation of microfinance institutions founded by the US-based NGO Global Communities, which has operations in Jordan, Romania and Lebanon. Vitas Romania provides financial services in 15 regions, mainly in western and central Romania. It targets individuals who generally do not have access to traditional banking services. According to the Microfinance Information Exchange, as of 2012, Vitas had total assets of USD 8.7 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 7.7 million with 1,500 borrowers. Vitas does not accept deposits.
About European Progress MicrofinanceEuropean Progress Microfinance was launched in 2010 in an effort to increase the availability of microcredit for small businesses by issuing grants and providing loans to microcredit providers in the European Union. The microcredit providers may be private or public banks, non-bank microfinance institutions or nonprofit microcredit providers. Progress Microfinance is supported by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB), and it is managed by the European Investment Fund, a member of the EIB group. It was established with funding of EUR 205 million (USD 260 million), out of which it has committed EUR 130 million (USD 164 million) in loans through 63 transactions, as of 2014.
About European Investment Fund (EIF)The European Investment Fund (EIF) is a provider of risk finance to organizations that lend to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Europe. The fund is a public-private partnership whose shareholding structure, as of 2014, includes the European Investment Bank (65.1 percent equity); the European Union (EU) as represented by the European Commission (24.3 percent); and 24 financial institutions from EU member states plus Türkiye and Croatia. EIF is a member of the EIB Group, the parent organization of the European Investment Bank (EIB). As of 2013, EIF had total assets of EUR 1.47 billion (USD 1.87 billion).