The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced a €5 million euro to the Arab Tunisian Lease (ATL Leasing) to improve access to financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Access to financing and liquidity remains a constraint for the growth of many private companies. Existing challenges have become even more acute since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The EBRD loan will enable ATL Leasing to alleviate this pressure by providing long-term financing to small businesses.
ATL Leasing will provide loans to finance the acquisition of equipment, light commercial vehicles, trucks, trailers, and real estate.
The loan is supported by the European Union under its Financial Inclusion Initiative, a program aimed at helping micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the southern and eastern part of the Mediterranean basin to become more competitive.
This program provides financing and know-how to boost the development of SMEs and create jobs.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a central role in the Tunisian economy. The country has more than 80,000 SMEs, which account for 40% of GDP and employ more than half of the population.
Mr. Antoine Sallé de Chou, head of EBRD in Tunisia, said: “We are very pleased to continue our partnership with ATL, a key player in the leasing sector in Tunisia.
This line of credit, which is part of our response to support the Tunisian economy in the COVID crisis, will help facilitate access to financing for small businesses”.
Mr. Marco Stella, Head of Economic Development Section at the European Union Delegation said this EU grant is aimed at strengthening the economic recovery of Tunisia in a context of uncertainty about the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Zouhaier Tamboura, CEO of ATL, said he was delighted with the signing of this loan agreement that will certainly help to finance the benefits of SMEs in Tunisia, which are the backbone of the Tunisian economy, and will allow ATL to continue to achieve growth in its strengths.
