CBK organized an information workshop for representatives of financial institutions within the framework of the initiative to support access to finance for women entrepreneurs “WE Finance Code”

The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo (CBK), with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, has organized an information workshop for representatives of local financial institutions, as part of the “WE Finance Code” initiative.

At the opening of the proceedings, the Governor, Mr Ahmet Ismaili, thanked the participants for their participation in this initiative and expressed his satisfaction that the institution he leads is coordinating this project at the national level, since according to him, the “WE Finance Code” offers an additional opportunity to support the objective of the Strategic Plan for access to finance and financial inclusion, with an emphasis on access for women entrepreneurs.

In his opening remarks, the Head of the EBRD Office in Kosovo, Mr Sergiy Maslichenko, thanked the CBK for its commitment, as he called it, to economic inclusion and the promotion of gender equality in the country’s financial sector.

“WE Finance Code” is a global project that aims to strengthen the economic potential of women, through which financial service providers, regulators, banks and other financial actors collaborate to support the financing of enterprises owned by women.

This workshop aimed to introduce financial institutions to the project, discuss challenges and opportunities for cooperation, and together with other initiatives to advance the collection and subsequent processing of gender-based data and much more, it is the first phase towards the implementation of this project, in order to achieve the highest possible results.

During the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), which were held in the fall of this year in Washington D.C., Governor Ismaili and EBRD Vice President, Mr. Mark Bowman, signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding supporting access to finance for women entrepreneurs within the framework of this initiative.

This Agreement represents the CBK’s dedication and commitment to support and contribute to the necessary initiatives and developments in the financial sector, which enable increased access to finance for women in small and medium-sized businesses, in order to increase financial inclusion, consumer protection and financial education through which it is in line with the CBK’s Strategic Plan.

The “WE Finance Code” was launched last year by the World Bank at the annual meetings in Marrakesh, where the CBK was also a participant in this initiative, and its signing took place precisely at the annual meetings, bringing together around 30 central banks and regulatory institutions.