The FINANCIAL — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi (TSKB) – the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey – are jointly providing a €21 million loan to Turkey’s leading wet wipe producer Sapro to support business growth and improve sustainability.
As demand for wet wipes has surged due to the coronavirus outbreak and households stocked on hygiene products, Sapro’s production facility has been working near full capacity. The company has already invested in measures to grow production and is now planning to invest in greater sustainability by “designing out waste” and thereby exceed European environmental standards.
The €21 million loan, divided equally between the EBRD and TSKB, will finance Sapro’s increased working capital needs and a new line of biodegradable wet wipes.
Sapro is part of the EBRD’s Blue Ribbon programme, which combines advisory services and financing to provide a significant boost to high-potential companies. Under the programme, Sapro is improving corporate governance and stepping up lean production, an approach to management that focuses on cutting out waste while ensuring quality. It has also benefited from advisory services, funded by the Republic of Korea, which looked at expanding into foreign markets.
The EBRD and TSKB are working together to improve and simplify access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises across Turkey. Under a risk-sharing agreement, the two lenders provide loans to eligible businesses identified jointly. Clients can use the loans to finance working capital, capital expenditure or refinance existing loans.
The EBRD is a major investor in Turkey. To date, it has invested €12.4 billion through more than 300 projects in various sectors of the country’s economy, with almost all investment in the private sector. The EBRD’s €7 billion Turkey portfolio is the largest among the 38 economies where the Bank invests.
