OPEC Fund lends €10M to Bosnia's Mikrofin to back small businesses

What's the deal? The OPEC Fund for International DevelopmentDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is lending €10 million to MikrofinDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the largest microfinance institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The loan will expand financing for micro and small enterprises, with a focus on women-owned businesses. It forms part of a syndication led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Why now? Micro and small enterprises make up 99% of all businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with 47% of employment and 44% of value added.

Yet these firms still struggle to access finance, which limits their capacity to grow and hire. Women-owned businesses face extra hurdles, including limited asset ownership and exclusion from formal networks.

This is Mikrofin's first loan agreement with the OPEC Fund. Founded in 1997, the lender runs 109 branches and employs more than 400 people.

What could go wrong? Microfinance carries repayment risks, especially among underserved borrowers with thin credit histories.

The impact also hinges on how effectively Mikrofin channels the funds to the entrepreneurs who need them most.

The signal: Development finance is increasingly targeting small businesses in emerging economies, where capital gaps remain wide. The OPEC Fund, established in 1976 as the only globally mandated institution channelling member-country financing exclusively to non-members, has committed more than $32 billion across over 125 countries. By syndicating with the IFC, it signals a growing appetite among development institutions to pool resources and stretch their reach.

Read more: OPEC Fund

Image credit: Generated with Gemini