Belarus MSME Access to Finance Project

closed

The objective of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Access to Finance Project is to improve access to finance for private MSMEs and enhance governance and the institutional capacity of the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus. There are three components to the project, the first component being line of credit to MSMEs. Component one will facilitate increased access and availability of finance for MSMEs by financing wholesale lending by DBRB for its MSME business line. DBRB will select PFIs pursuant to criteria agreed with the WB, and subject to no objection by the WB. The selected PFIs will, in turn, provide sub-finance to private MSMEs, the final beneficiaries of the credit line. The PFIs will assume the credit risk of the sub-borrowers that will be selected based on agreed upon eligibility criteria. The second component is an institutional strengthening component. The objective of component two is strengthened institutional capacity of DBRB and improved knowledge and awareness of banks and MSMEs. The technical assistance (TA) to be provided under this component builds on an assessment conducted by the WB under the 2014 development module FSAP and the 2016 IMF/WB FSAP update related to institutional, regulatory, and supervisory strengthening of DBRB. The institutional capacity of DBRB will be significantly strengthened through extensive, well-targeted technical assistance and investments. Finally, the third component is the project management and implementation component. Component three will support the day-to-day PIU functions and related operational costs. It will finance operating costs related to supervision of environmental safeguards, financial management, procurement, project management and monitoring, and translation and interpretation services. It will also invest in software and hardware aimed at the creation of a MSME support program database for project monitoring and reporting.