Short description of the overall project

Innovative financing facilities have helped to promote sustainable energy investments in Moldova and Ukraine by establishing credit lines with local banks and providing technical expertise to potential beneficiaries.

While small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU’s Eastern Partnership region have the potential to create jobs and drive economic growth, they face a number of challenges. These include limited access to finance, burdensome legislation, and difficulties entering new markets. Energy efficiency measures not only benefit the environment but also help businesses achieve cost savings.

In order to encourage the uptake of energy efficiency projects in the region, two financing facilities were set up to help - the Moldova Sustainable Energy Finance Facility (MoSEFF II) and Ukraine Energy Efficiency Programme II (UKEEP II) – both managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Short description of activities financed by the donation

Through the Moldova Sustainable Energy Finance Facility II, the EBRD has lent up to 22 mill. EUR for sustainable energy finance projects. Through the Ukraine Energy Efficiency Programme II, it has provided 50 mill. EUR in finance to small- and medium-sized enterprises. The funding comes in the form of credits provided at market rates to participating banks. The EBRD has also managed a technical cooperation fund with the EU resources deployed for a technical assistance package to assist eligible borrowers and projects.

The two financing facilities have helped to finance a wide variety of small-scale energy efficiency projects in both Moldova and Ukraine. Local SMEs have benefited from easier access to credit to make, among others, investments in equipment, systems and processes that utilise renewable energy sources for the generation of electricity, heat, and cooling. Another example is a group of bakeries in the Zaporizhzhya region of Ukraine that accessed funding to switch to alternative fuels and put in place energy efficiency measures achieving annual savings of around 80,000 mill. EUR