International Finance Corporation and ProCredit deepen their cooperation to support SMEs in nine emerging economies during the corona crisis

- IFC is making USD 100 million available to SMEs through the ProCredit group

- The target countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine

- The financial resources are aimed at providing SMEs with short-term access to additional working capital

Frankfurt am Main, 13 July 2020 - The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA (ProCredit Holding; ProCredit) are providing targeted financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to enable them to bridge COVID-19-related liquidity bottlenecks and to take advantage of potential opportunities arising from the crisis. For this purpose IFC is granting a loan of USD 100 million to ProCredit Holding. The loan is being granted under the IFC's Working Capital Solutions (WCS) programme.

The funds will be available at short notice to qualified SMEs in nine of the altogether twelve ProCredit banks. These are the ProCredit banks in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine.

The Management Board of ProCredit Holding is firmly convinced that the ProCredit banks are well positioned to play an important and positive role in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in their respective countries. In the Board's view, a robust SME sector will be of central importance for the macroeconomic recovery of the countries in which ProCredit banks operate, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Management Board is confident that the funds made available by ProCredit's long-standing partner IFC will enable well-positioned SMEs to develop further and find new business opportunities.

"This financing is designed to support SMEs whose cashflows have been impacted by the pandemic" said Vittorio Di Bello, IFC's Regional Head of Industry for Financial Institutions in Europe and Central Asia. "ProCredit's SME focus and extensive geographic outreach will be instrumental in improving access to financing to these enterprises, which are usually underserved and in need of it the most."

IFC is a shareholder of ProCredit Holding and in 2019 it invested USD 90 million in ProCredit Holding's first ever Green Bond issue.

Contact:
Andrea Kaufmann, Group Communications, ProCredit Holding, Tel.: 138,
E-mail:

Jennifer Bisping, IFC Vienna, Tel.: , E-mail:

About the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
IFC - a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group - is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2019, we invested more than $19 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit

About ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA
ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA, based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the parent company of the development-oriented ProCredit group, which consists of commercial banks for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In addition to its operational focus on South Eastern and Eastern Europe, the ProCredit group is also active in South America and Germany. The company's shares are traded on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The anchor shareholders of ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA include the strategic investors Zeitinger Invest and ProCredit Staff Invest (the investment vehicle for ProCredit staff), the Dutch DOEN Participaties BV, KfW Development Bank and IFC (part of the World Bank Group). As the group's superordinated company according to the German Banking Act, ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA is supervised on a consolidated level by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, BaFin) and the German Bundesbank. For additional information, visit: -holding.com.

Forward-looking statements
This press release contains statements relating to our future business development and financial performance, as well as statements relating to future actions or developments affecting ProCredit Holding or the ProCredit banks which may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the management of ProCredit Holding's current expectations and specific assumptions, many of which are beyond the control of ProCredit Holding or of the ProCredit banks. They are therefore subject to a multitude of risks, uncertainties and factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialise, or should underlying expectations or assumptions prove incorrect, then the actual results, performance and achievements (both negative and positive) of ProCredit Holding or of the ProCredit banks may differ significantly from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statement. ProCredit Holding or the ProCredit banks do not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to correct them in the event of deviations from the expected development.