EBRD Expands Attijari Bank Tunisia Risk-Sharing to €70M

In Short

• EBRD increased its risk-sharing facility with Attijari bank Tunisia from €20 million to €70 million.
• A new US$10 million facility will back corporate ESG investments, with some projects eligible for UK-funded HIPCA grants.
• The goal is to widen access to finance for Tunisian businesses across sectors.

What Happened

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expanded its risk-sharing facility with Attijari bank Tunisia, taking the total size to €70 million. A risk-sharing facility is a lending partnership where a development bank agrees to take part of the loan risk, so local banks can lend more.

EBRD also added a new US$10 million facility, about €8.6 million, aimed at corporate ESG investments. ESG means environmental, social, and governance practices, which is a way to measure how a company manages issues like energy use, worker welfare, and oversight.

Projects financed under this new ESG line can qualify for grants from the United Kingdom through HIPCA, the High-Impact Partnership on Climate Action. Grants are non-repayable support that can reduce the upfront cost of upgrades.

EBRD said the existing facility has already supported 25 projects, representing around TND 400 million in financing, about €118 million.

Why It Matters

Tunisia’s SMEs and mid-sized companies often face tight credit conditions, especially for longer-term investment. By sharing risk with the bank, EBRD can help unlock more lending capacity without requiring the bank to take all the downside.

The ESG-focused facility may also push more capital into practical projects like energy-efficiency upgrades, renewable-energy installations, and waste-reduction tools. These are the kinds of investments that can cut operating costs, but they usually need upfront financing.

For founders and operators, this matters because bank lending still drives most business funding in North Africa. Risk-sharing structures can make credit more available, even when macro conditions are uncertain.