CBCG and EBRD Launch the WE Finance Code Initiative
28/11/2024
The CBCG Governor, Irena Radović, and her team met today with representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), led by Mr Remon Zakaria, the Head of the EBRD Office in Montenegro, and the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, led by Dr Marija Risteska, Programme Coordinator.
Today’s meeting formally started the implementation of the Women Entrepreneurs (WE) Finance Code initiative in Montenegro, which aims to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship by improving access to financing for Montenegrin MSMEs managed or owned by women. Previously, the CBCG and the EBRD signed the Memorandum of Understanding in London this June, laying the foundations for the project’s start.
Through the CBCG’s involvement, Montenegro’s inclusion in this important global initiative for empowering and including women’s entrepreneurship is a key step towards improving economic inclusion and sustainable development of the country, said Director Zakaria. He used the opportunity to congratulate the Governor on Montenegro’s admission to the SEPA system, highlighting that it will “further strengthen the Montenegrin economy and contribute to inclusion and economic development”.
Governor Radović expressed satisfaction that this initiative brought together all key public and financial services sector stakeholders in Montenegro, including commercial banks, microcredit financial institutions and the Investment and Development Fund.
“The engagement and enthusiasm of all relevant players will contribute to achieving our common goal - to make financial inclusion a reality, not just a promise. By doing so, we directly contribute to the economic empowerment of women and the use of their potential for more dynamic economic growth,” said the CBCG Governor.
Commenting on the current data on the gender balance in the Montenegrin financial sector, revealing that only 17.7% of loans to MSMEs are granted to women-owned enterprises, the interlocutors agreed that this situation should incentivise additional efforts. To that end, further work is required to assess risks and remove obstacles that make access to financing difficult, was the conclusion of the meeting.
Dr. Marijana Mitrović Mijatović, Head of the CBCG Department for Financial Stability, Research and Statistics, will be the WE Finance Code Champion, i.e. the leader of activities on implementing the initiative in Montenegro.
The Governor highlighted the Women on Boards (WoB) programme implemented in Montenegro as part of the WE Finance Code initiative to develop personnel for greater inclusiveness in economic decision-making positions aligned with the acquis communautaire.
Director Zakaria praised the engagement of the Governor as the initiator of the Agenda for Economic Empowerment of Women from 2022 and the founder of the WoB programme at the national level, an integral part of the preparations for implementing the new Law on Business Companies to be adopted soon. The law has transposed the provisions from the relevant EU regulations concerning the quotas committing large private and public sector enterprises: at least 40 percent of the members of the boards of directors for representatives of the less represented gender, or at least 33 percent of all executive and non-executive directors.
At the meeting, they announced a workshop to be held tomorrow to define concrete steps for implementing the WE Finance Code initiative, with the participation of all relevant financial and public sector actors.
The meeting attendees were also Selma Demirović, an associate from EBDR’s Podgorica office and Mr Calum Wallace, an analyst in Gender and Economic Inclusion at the EBRD headquarters in London, and the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management representatives Ms Hannah Wuttke, Project Manager, Mr Gojko Vučinić, SME Banking Expert, Ufuk Cogur, data expert and Ana Saveljić, National Coordinator.