The Russia Small Business Fund (RSBF) was established by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in 1994 to provide financial support to the Russian small business sector. Supported by the G-7 countries and Switzerland, the EBRD established a US$ 300 million fund, half of which was funded from the EBRD's own resources and the other half by the G-7 countries. An additional US$ 150 million was approved in July 2001 for continuing and expanding the operations of the RSBF.
The main goals of the RSBF are:
-To ensure access to financing, via Russian partner-banks, for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) which often find it difficult to get access to credit through the formal banking system;
-To strengthen the MSE lending capacity of Russian banking institutions, so as to create sustainable long-term access to financing for MSEs.
-To implement these goals, the EBRD provides onlending funds directly to Russian partner banks, which in turn make loans to MSEs.
The following are RSBF’s current partner banks (including TA-supported and graduated banks):
Absolut Bank, Chelindbank, KMB-Bank (Intesa Bank from January 2010), Masterbank, MDM-Bank, NBD-Bank (Nizhegorodsky Bankirsky Dom), Spurt Bank, Transcapitalbank, Uraltransbank, Centr-Invest Bank, Finka Russia, Forus Bank, Locko-Bank, Probusinessabank, Vostochny Express Bank, Vozrozhdeniye.
RSBF was established to ensure access to credit, via Russian partner-banks, for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) which often find it difficult to receive loans through the formal banking system and to strengthen the MSE lending capacity of Russian banking institutions, so as to create sustainable long-term access to financing for MSE
In 2011, EBRD agreed to a 50 percent funding increase for its largest and oldest lending programme for micro and small businesses, the Russia Small Business Fund (RSBF), as well as a four-and-a-half-year extension of the fund’s activities up to the end of 2015.
Technical Assistance
Financial support has been provided to the Russian Small Business Fund by the European Union, the USA, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Switzerland through their donor agencies. Successful institution building has been made possible thanks to the technical assistance offered to partner banks. The introduction of the Programme has provided them not only with a new source of funds but, more importantly, with small business lending technology, consultancy support and assistance in acquiring the equipment they need to lend through the RSBF.
