Bucharest, Romania, February 23, 2011—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a €22.5 million loan to Garanti Bank Romania to help finance small and medium businesses in Romania, especially those owned or managed by women entrepreneurs.

The transaction is IFC’s first loan specifically designed to assist enterprises run by women entrepreneurs in Eastern Europe. Garanti Bank Romania has recently developed a special product for women entrepreneurs, benefitting from its parent bank's experience in financing women-owned enterprises in Turkey.

“Working with our strategic partner IFC, we will identify innovative approaches to promote women in business,” said Burak Yildiran, Deputy General Manager of Garanti Bank Romania. “Among our clients, there are many successful businesses led by women. Together with IFC, we will create additional opportunities for women in business, and work to transform the Romanian market.”

This fiscal year, IFC will support investments and advisory projects that will provide access to financial services to more than 15 million clients, of which at least half will be women, and more than 1 million small and medium enterprises, at least 25 percent of them owned by women.

“Women play a crucial role in business, and they have a direct impact on the type and quality of economic growth that a country experiences,” said Tomasz Telma, IFC Director for Europe and Central Asia. “Strengthening women’s participation in the Romanian private sector both empowers women and harnesses untapped potential for advancing development.”

Romania became a member of IFC in 1990. IFC’s portfolio in Romania stands at $632 million. IFC’s role in Romania is evolving in light of the country’s EU membership and the growing availability of private financing. In addition to its work in financial markets, IFC has focused on agriculture, general manufacturing, infrastructure, and healthcare.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit www.ifc.org

To learn more about Garanti Romania, visit www.garantibank.ro

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