EIB and The National Bank partner to support Palestinian SMEs

This is the EU Bank’s first operation in response to the Covid-19 related emergency in Palestine, and it is part of the Team Europe Initiative to help mitigate the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

The European Investment Bank (EIB)  supports the resilience of the Palestinian private sector with a USD 50 million line of credit extended to The National Bank (TNB) to be on-lent primarily to local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

This is the EU Bank’s first operation in response to the Covid-19 related emergency in Palestine, and it is part of the Team Europe Initiative to help mitigate the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The EIB financing comes under the Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI), which is part of the European Union’s response to the challenges in the Southern Neighbourhood, such as forced displacement and migration, economic downturns and political crises.

The EIB funding is made available as part of a package, including a comprehensive technical assistance programme and a risk-sharing instrument on a later stage, to be provided under the EU’s European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD). These instruments aim to promote access to finance for SMEs in general and financial inclusion of underserved and vulnerable groups of the economy, including SMEs impacted by Covid-19 crisis, start-ups, women- and youth-owned businesses.

Dario Scannapieco, EIB Vice-President commented on the signature of the new financing agreement, “We are proud to partner with The National Bank. A partnership through which we aim to make available vital and much-needed financing for businesses and, ultimately, sustain jobs and strengthen the resilience of the economy in the midst of the current crisis. ”

Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, European Union Representative said: “I am pleased to present this much-needed financing to help Palestinian SMEs recover from the Covid-19 crisis. The EU is a strong supporter of private sector-led economic development in Palestine. I would like to underline that this agreement represents the first financial support delivered under the EU Covid-19 economic assistance package. The agreement we signed today represents one component of a package made available in Palestine, which includes a risk-sharing instrument under the EU External Investment Plan as well as a technical assistance programme.”

TNB Chairman, Talal Nasereddin, said, “We are very proud to be the first bank in Palestine to gain the trust of the EU and the EIB and sign an agreement which supports our strategy and approaches for expanding our financing to this vital sector, especially being the most affected due to the coronavirus pandemic. With this credit line, we will certainly contribute towards reinforcing the resilience of the SMEs in Palestine and the Palestinian national economy, which SMEs is considered its backbone.”