Jun. 02, 2022 at 11:10 am

EBRD And Sweden Support Women Entrepreneurs In Kosovo

admin3 years agoJune 2, 2022no commentNo tags

Krenare Rugova is a fashion house run by a women entrepreneur, namely a fashion designer. Following the completion of her studies at the Parsons School of Design in NYC and the experience gained worldwide at the fashion style studios in America, right upon her return to Kosovo in 2003 she decided to institute a small workshop and the success came clearly because of the release of her first bespoke clothes. Furthermore, during the May 2006, the owner relocated to a new modernistic studio established in area of 80 Sq m and she settled the workshop in new location that is only 50 m distant from the studio. BAS previously assisted the company with development of marketing strategy that exceeded the project expectations within a period of six months after its implementation. This strategy proved to be very beneficial to the marketing campaign of the company, since customers in this segment always seek for new designs, and “KR” has to be compassionate and acknowledging to these varying market demands. In the course of 2008, the company had received a grant from EC (European Commission) which resulted to opening a new factory of series clothes. However due to the premium quality and price products, this production represents only 25% of total company turnover which mainly is dedicated to export to the Western countries i.e the company’s products are displayed and can be bought at First Sight-Austria, Switzerland- Ostblock, VertigoWear -Finland, Atelje 5-Slovenia and Echo Brides- Canada. Nowadays the focus of the management is to penetrate further to other EU countries so they could increase the utilization of their production capacity so consequently they had to establish sales partnership with one of the biggest fashion houses in the UK. Even though the owner has previously carried out a direct marketing since 2005 for the customers and followed by several campaigns to increase their awareness and enhance sales, this kind of strategy seems to be insufficient for the

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By Bojana Vlajcic

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is extending €3 million(US$3.2million) in funding to Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KRK), a microfinance institution in Kosovo. The financing, which Sweden is backing with grants and technical assistance, will support investments by women entrepreneurs and small businesses.

As part of this funding, a €1 million loan for businesses run or owned by women is being extended under the EBRD’s Women in Business programme, which promotes women’s entrepreneurship and their participation in business more broadly by providing them with access to finance and know-how. Since its launch in the Western Balkans in 2014, the programme has provided more than €57 million in credit lines, reaching more than 4,800 women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises across the region to provide access to finance, advisory services, training, mentoring and network-building activities.

Some €2 million will be extended to other small businesses to boost entrepreneurship and competitiveness. It will allow enterprises to access funding to invest in innovation in areas such as strategy, products, processes and marketing.

EBRD Director, Financial Institutions, Aleksandra Vukosavljevic said: “We are pleased to extend our cooperation with KRK in Kosovo. Improving access to finance and know-how will help boost the competitiveness of local MSMEs and create more jobs and business opportunities in the country. With the Women in Business programme in particular helping to bridge the gender gap in Kosovo; the EBRD has allocated €12 million to date here under this programme.”

KRK is the third-largest microfinance institution in Kosovo. Operating since 2000, it has a network of 27 branches across the country and around 250 employees. KRK has a strong shareholder base comprised of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO, Solidarité Internationale pour le Développement et l’Investissement (SIDI) and Crédit Coopératif.

The EBRD has invested €602 million in 86 projects in Kosovo since it began operating there in 2012. The Bank’s strategic priorities in the country are to promote the green economy, support the competitive development of the private sector and foster regional integration.

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