Council of Europe Development Bank
The Council of Europe Development Bank’s (CEB) mission is to promote social cohesion in Europe. The CEB is the oldest European Multilateral Development Bank (MDB), established in 1956 by eight Member States with the objective of alleviating the plight of refugees and other vulnerable groups. In 2022, the CEB approved around 40 loans in 20 Member States, totalling € 4 billion, of which more than € 1.5 billion in favour of refugees fleeing Ukraine and their host communities. CEB has been supporting European microfinance institutions since 2008. In the Bank’s new Strategic Framework 2023-2027, microfinance has become one of the six focus sectors. CEB expects to increase its support to MFIs further with an objective of promoting financial and social inclusion of vulnerable groups, including refugees and migrants.
Incoming Innovations
In late 2022 and early 2023, the CEB has signed cooperation agreements with the European Union and became an implementing partner of the InvestEU guarantee (including a Framework Operation for microfinance) and the InvestEU Advisory Hub. As a result, CEB expects to expand its microfinance activities in its member countries within the EU. In 2023-2024, the CEB will also be implementing innovative solutions for migrants and refugee integration using microfinance instruments under the Partnerships and Financing for Migrant Inclusion (PAFMI) Project which is funded by the European Commission (EC) through the Directorate General for Home Affairs and Migration (DG HOME)/ Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).
Countries of intervention
Europe
