- EBRD extends up to €5 million to Landeslease under the SME Reboot Programme
- At least 70 per cent of sub‑leases dedicated to GET‑eligible green technologies
- Technical assistance and grant incentives funded by Switzerland through SBIF
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is strengthening its support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Albania through a new partnership with Landeslease. The Bank will provide a senior loan of up to €5 million to expand access to finance for MSMEs nationwide.
The funding, supplied under the EBRD’s SME Reboot Programme, will enable Landeslease to offer sub-leases for MSME investments in higher-performance technologies and services. It will help local firms go beyond business as usual and upgrade processes to meet European Union (EU) directives and other internationally recognised standards, boosting competitiveness at home and abroad.
To further reduce the cost of investment and ensure high-quality implementation, the programme provides technical cooperation, including support for implementation, marketing and monitoring. Eligible MSMEs will benefit from grant incentives of up to 10 per cent of each sub-lease, released after the investment has been verified. For this Landeslease loan, both the technical assistance and the investment grants are funded by Switzerland through the EBRD Small Business Impact Fund (SBIF).*
At least 70 per cent of the funds will finance green technologies eligible under the EBRD’s Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, supporting energy and resource efficiency and the adoption of cleaner solutions across Albania’s MSME sector.
Ekaterina Solovova, EBRD Head of Albania, said: “We are pleased to initiate a new partnership with Landeslease under our SME Reboot Programme. Through this collaboration, we are expanding access to affordable finance for Albanian MSMEs. With a strong focus on green investments, businesses can upgrade equipment, improve efficiency and align with EU standards, helping them grow sustainably and compete beyond the domestic market.”
Rezart Ferzaj, CEO of Landeslease said: “We greatly value this collaboration with the EBRD, which will enable Landeslease to combine leasing solutions, technical assistance and incentive programmes to help SMEs upgrade their business, improve efficiency and grow in alignment with EU standards.”
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Tirana, Landeslease is one of Albania’s largest leasing companies. It specialises in finance and operating leases, with a strong focus on vehicles and equipment.
The EBRD’s SME Reboot Programme is designed to combine finance, advisory support and investment incentives to help small firms recover from recent macroeconomic challenges and raise performance standards.
To date, the EBRD has invested more than €2.3 billion through 175 projects in Albania.
*Other SBIF donors include: Italy, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.