EuroWire, VIENNA: The OPEC Fund for International Development has signed a €15 million loan with Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo to expand access to credit for small and medium sized enterprises, including women owned businesses, in a move the development lender described as its first private sector operation in Kosovo.
The OPEC Fund said the financing will support lending to local companies by enabling Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo to offer longer tenor loans, a structure intended to help firms fund investment and business expansion. The bank is a unit of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International and is one of Kosovo’s largest lenders by assets and lending market share.
OPEC Fund Vice President for the private sector Tareq Alnassar said SMEs remain central to Kosovo’s economy but often face limited access to affordable financing. “Our partnership with Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo will help channel much needed resources to local businesses,” he said.
The agreement adds to cooperation between the OPEC Fund and the Raiffeisen group, headquartered in Austria, where the OPEC Fund is also based. The lender said the Kosovo operation supports its focus on entrepreneurship, financial inclusion and expanding opportunities for women led enterprises.
Financing for Kosovo’s SMEs and women led firms
Kosovo’s banking sector is dominated by foreign owned institutions, and SMEs are the primary customer base for business lending. Development finance support has increasingly targeted longer maturity credit to help smaller firms make capital investments that are difficult to fund through short term borrowing.
Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo reported total assets of about €1.57 billion at the end of 2024 and said it held an 18.3% share of system assets at that date, based on its annual report. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has also described the bank as the largest in Kosovo by assets, with about 19% market share as of mid 2025.
The OPEC Fund said the loan is aligned with Sustainable Development Goals linked to decent work and economic growth and to industry, innovation and infrastructure. It did not provide an expected number of beneficiary companies or a sector breakdown for the lending program.
OPEC Fund’s broader development footprint
The OPEC Fund is a multilateral development institution established in 1976 that provides financing funded by member countries to partner countries. In a December 2025 statement on its operations, the institution said it has committed more than $30 billion to development projects in over 125 countries, with total project costs estimated at more than $200 billion.
The OPEC Fund also said it is rated AA+ with a stable outlook by Fitch and S&P Global Ratings. Its financing spans public and private sector projects, including support for small businesses, infrastructure, energy, water and sanitation, healthcare and education.
For Kosovo, the new private sector facility complements the OPEC Fund’s broader engagement in the Western Balkans, where international lenders have emphasized the role of bank credit in supporting job creation and private sector growth. The OPEC Fund and Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo said the loan is intended to widen access to finance for firms that face persistent credit gaps, including women owned enterprises.