Skopje, 28 March 2024 (MIA) – Greater financial inclusion of women entrepreneurs by developing skills, knowledge, preparation and monitoring of appropriate data and access to financial assets are the primary goals of the pilot project headed by the National Bank with the support of the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction (EBRD), stated National Bank Governor Anita Angelovska-Bezhoska and the EBRD representative to North Macedonia Fatih Türkmenoğlu at Thursday’s signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Cooperation for the implementation of the Code for Financing Female Entrepreneurs in North Macedonia, the National Bank said in a press release.

According to the press release, Governor Angelovska-Bezhoska expressed gratitude for the trust shown by the EBRD, with the decision to appoint the central bank to lead the project and build bridges between the public and private sector for enhanced financial inclusion of women, which will open new businesses and jobs and will contribute to the economic growth. 

“Supporting women-led businesses is crucial in the fight for gender equality. The central bank will be actively involved in educating borrowers about the opportunities and obligations that creditors have towards them, as well as about providing data on lending to women-led companies, which will contribute to better access of female entrepreneurs to finance.  The latest Survey of the National Platform for Women Entrepreneurship ‘Barometer of Female Entrepreneurship from 2023’ shows that around 40 percent of women believe they don’t have enough support in terms of advisory platform and grants to support their business. Also, more than half believe that they don’t have sufficient or appropriate access to finance, while 88 percent of women entrepreneurs point out that they started their business with their own funds or by borrowing from family or friends. With this project, we would like to make a difference and turn the attention towards these policies that can contribute to faster economic growth and development” the Governor said.

EBRD representative Türkmenoğlu said promoting gender equality is one of the three strategic priorities of the EBRD.

“The Code for Financing Female Entrepreneurs is an exceptional opportunity to direct the current efforts in this field and we are particularly pleased with the close cooperation with the National Bank in this area” Türkmenoğlu said.

The National Bank and the EBRD have committed to further increase the number of signatories of the Code for Financing Female Entrepreneurs in the country, by involving policymakers, financial service providers and other authorities in order to provide data for women-led companies and promote its use in creating policies and products for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises led by women, said the Bank in the press release.   

Photo: National Bank