Albanian 
Prishtina, 10 April 2020 – The Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund plays an important role in increasing access to finance for businesses, especially at this time of crisis when liquidity is crucial to the operation of enterprises in any sector. This was concluded during a virtual forum organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, where the role of the Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund in times of crisis was discussed.
Besnik Berisha, Managing Director of the Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund, stressed that the private sector is progressively suffering from the effects of the economic crisis as a result of the COVID19 pandemic. Berisha talked about the current activity of the Fund and the measures that this institution in cooperation with the Government of Kosovo and international donors is taking in support of micro, small and medium enterprises, but also of partner financial institutions during this period of crisis. Furthermore, Berisha announced that the Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund is operating, and recently its guarantee capital has increased by 6.5 million euros for agribusinesses, as a result of a financial agreement between our Government and the German Government. Moreover, Berisha mentioned that the institution he leads is in constant discussion with partners regarding the creation of new support portfolios for various economic sectors after the recovery period from the pandemic.
Milazim Abazi, Market Director at BDO Kosova and Chairperson of the Finance Committee at AmCham, stated that the Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund plays an extremely important role, enabling access to bank loans for new businesses, to those without prior business operation history. He suggested that banks should now be more flexible in their instruments and loan portfolios, noting that in addition to deferring payment deadlines, they should provide loans with much lower interest rates compared to interest calculated before the crisis. According to Abazi, the huge impact of pandemics is undisputed, but opportunities for recovery and new investments will also increase for those who know how to take advantage of this opportunity.