UniCredit announces the launch of "UniCredit for CEE 2025", a holistic umbrella framework with concrete financial, accounts management and advisory solutions across CEE. It is designed to offer micro and small businesses a suite of favorable financing solutions, amounting to EUR 2.3 billion.
The initiative builds on the success of UniCredit for CEE 2024, which has provided across CEE more favorable financing amount of above EUR 2 bn, as well as accounts management and advisory to more than 9300 micro and small corporate clients.
The launch of the "UniCredit for CEE 2025" was announced at The Central & Eastern European Forum, an influential event that gathers in Vienna over 2,000 stakeholders from the finance sector, including issuers, investors, and policymakers from more than 45 countries.
Aligned with UniCredit's vision to be The Bank for Europe's Future, the "UniCredit for CEE 2025" includes:
Favorable Financing
o Access to over EUR 2.3 billion in financial support through 57 programs with 20+ international partners, including the EIB, EIF, and EBRD.
o Over 9,000 businesses will benefit from lower collateral requirements and pricing advantages, special account management conditions, mentoring, ESG advisory programs and more.
· Account Management
o Customized solutions, including fee waivers for third sector organizations and welcome packages for new clients, tailored to local market needs.
· Advisory Services
o Support for transitioning to sustainable business practices through workshops, events, mentoring, and development programs for small business owners.
These initiatives aim to empower enterprises to embrace innovation and technology while scaling their operations.
Teodora Petkova, Head of UniCredit for Central and Eastern Europe, UniCredit: "CEE is a strategic region of growth for Europe and UniCredit. We are a strong and reliable partner, supporting our clients through innovative initiatives like UniCredit for CEE, as we seek to deliver on our purpose to empower the communities that we operate in to progress. "
With "UniCredit for CEE 2025," the bank reaffirms its commitment to driving growth and sustainability in the micro and small business sector, setting the stage for a more competitive CEE region.
UniCredit research shows that SMEs play an important role in CEE economies. They contribute more to the turnover, to employment and to GDP than large companies. However, they have lowеr productivity, compared to larger companies. One of the measures to tackle this is to further improve access to funding, and UniCredit for CEE is a step in that direction.
According to UniCredit macroeconomists the businesses in CEE will operate in an environment which is challenging for the region. Nevertheless, the group expects growth of between 2% and 3% in most CEE countries in 2025, above the growth rates in Western Europe". The growth will mainly be driven by domestic demand in the region. Consumption will be supported by still-tight labor markets. Employment will grow, driven by service sectors, although job creation in industry has been decreasing in most countries.
For further information, please contact: mediarelations@unicredit.eu