The National Bank and the Governor Angelovska Bezhoska chosen by the EBRD to lead the project for female entrepreneurship in our country

Skopje, 28 March 2024

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 (EBOR). This was stated at today's signing ceremony of the Memorandum of cooperation for the implementation of the Code for financing female entrepreneurs in our country, which was attended by the Governor of the National Bank, Anita Angelovska Bezhoska and the EBRD representative in our country Fatih Türkmenoğlu, representing the teams of the central bank and the EBRD office.

The 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% of women consider not having enough support in terms of advisory platform and grants to support their business. Also, more than half consider that they don't have sufficient or appropriate access to finance, while 88% of the women entrepreneurs point out that they start their business with 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" pointed out the Governor Angelovska Bezhoska.

"Promoting gender equality is one of the three strategic priorities of the EBRD, where the support of the female entrepreneurs plays a key role. 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", said the EBRD representative for our country, Türkmenoğlu.

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, including the policy makers, financial services providers and other authorities in order to provide data on women-led companies and to promote its use in creating policies and products for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises led by women.