Bucharest, Romania, June 16, 2014—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, approved a €35 million loan to Garanti Bank Romania to help finance the country’s small and medium businesses, with €20 million for on-lending to companies owned or managed by women.

This is IFC’s second loan to Garanti specifically designed to support women entrepreneurs in Romania. In 2012, IFC provided a €22.5 million loan to Garanti to back more than 160 small and medium companies in the textile industry, trade, construction, tourism, and services.

“Garanti Bank has been supporting entrepreneurs, with a focus on women-led small and medium-sized enterprises, for the past four years,” said Ufuk Tandogan, CEO Garanti Bank Romania. “By providing loans to this sector we want to help them develop, increase competitiveness and overcome obstacles they are facing in the current challenging economic environment.”