Micro and small enterprises in Mongolia , including the ones in remote rural areas, will have more opportunities to withstand the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic and grow their business thanks to the latest agreement between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the local lender Transcapital NBFI.

Funds of up to MNT 10 billion (€2.9 million equivalent) will be used by Transcapital NBFI, the country’s leading micro lender and an EBRD partner since 2013, to provide loans to micro and small enterprises across this vast and sparsely populated east-Asian nation.

This will be the first EBRD loan agreement benefitting immediately from a long-term dollar-tugrug swap facility signed between the EBRD and the Bank of Mongolia in January 2021, the purpose of which is to increase the availability of MNT financing to local businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Only a small proportion of non-banking financial institutions in Mongolia provide funds to micro and small enterprises in rural areas. The EBRD loan will stimulate the development of non-banking lending in remote parts of the country and channel funds to rural businesses.