EBRD and donors extend €1.5 million loan to Sparkasse Bank in North Macedonia

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Sparkasse Bank in North Macedonia are stepping up their work to improve energy efficiency across the country by making additional funds available to homeowners for energy-saving measures.  

The EBRD will extend a €1.5 million loan to Sparkasse Bank for on-lending to clients for investment in energy-efficiency improvements.  

The financing is secured under the Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) programme for the Western Balkans, which supports energy-efficient solutions for a greener and more sustainable economy. The new loan to Sparkasse Bank comes under the third phase of the regional GEFF programme, which has already helped more than 14,000 homeowners gain access to more than €75 million in loans.   

Andi Aranitasi, EBRD Head of North Macedonia, said: “We are pleased to expand our cooperation with Sparkasse Bank under the GEFF and to see a growing number of citizens recognising the importance and benefits of investing in energy efficiency. These investments allow them to improve the comfort of their homes and lower their electricity bills.”  

Nina Nedanoska, Deputy President of the Management Board of Sparkasse Banka AD Skopje, said: “It is my great pleasure to continue Sparkasse Bank AD Skopje’s significant and successful cooperation with the EBRD’s Western Balkans GEFF programme in North Macedonia. With this credit line, we want to support citizens in equipping their households with advanced technologies, on which they will have multiple returns, including an attractive financial grant of 20 per cent of the investment amount and homes that are sustainable for the future.” 

Homeowners will be able to apply for loans for investments in insulation, windows, heat pumps, solar panels and other improvements with a view to increasing the energy efficiency of their homes and reducing their energy intensity. After successfully implementing their projects, borrowers will be eligible for a grant of up to 20 per cent of the loan amount. The Western Balkans GEFF has been supported by the EU, Austria and bilateral donors to the Western Balkans Investment Framework, newly joined by Switzerland through the High-Impact Partnership on Climate Action (HIPCA; also supported by Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, TaiwanICDF and the United Kingdom), and Japan. As of end November 2022, the GEFF in North Macedonia had reached more than 3,500 households and provided loans of almost €27.5 million for individual projects through partner financial institutions. These have contributed to more than 17,000 MWh of energy savings and a reduction of almost 7,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. The most frequently financed technologies are windows and doors, insulation, biomass boilers and heat pumps. 

The EBRD is one of the leading institutional investors in North Macedonia. To date, it has invested more than €2.5 billion in projects from various sectors of the economy.