Skopje, 22 December 2021 (MIA) – The Development Bank of North Macedonia took out on Wednesday the second tranche of the European Investment Bank loan for small and medium-sized enterprises. This portion of the loan, it said in a press release, stands at EUR 42.2 million and will support 132 projects of domestic companies, set to hire 373 new workers. Most of the funds are allocated for trade and manufacturing enterprises (EUR 16.4 million). Companies use credit line funds via loans with interest rates of up to 1.6%. “A total of EUR 100 million were provided with this EIB loan, as direct support for small and medium-size enterprises. It aims to assist domestic companies in the manufacturing, tourism and other sectors recover from the coronacrisis quickly. The EIB loan will help companies ensure the continuity of business processes and retain workers, while at the same time increasing productivity and expanding business activities,” the Development Bank said.