Aequo has acted as Ukrainian law counsel to the European Fund for Southeast Europe on its granting of a USD ten million loan to Ukraine's OTP Leasing LLC.
Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau, a German state-owned development bank, is the initiator of the European Fund for Southeast Europe, which is a Luxembourg-based fund focusing on the development of local financial sectors in Southeast Europe and parts of Central Asia by providing long-term funding for micro- and small enterprises, as well as private households.
The international investors in the EFSE include the European Union, and the governments of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, as well as the International Finance Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and National Development Institutions of Western and Southeast Europe.
According to Aequo, the loan will be directed to financing leasing transactions with Ukrainian SMEs, which are engaged in agriculture, livestock, and agro-processing and have their main business operations in rural areas.
Aequo Partner Yulia Kyrpa commented, "the loan is significant support for OTP Leasing and its clients. To date, EFSE has cooperated with banks in the Ukrainian financial sector, but leasing is a good alternative to classical financing, especially for small enterprises in the agricultural sector, and this transaction is yet another evidence of EFSE’s commitment to supporting economic development and prosperity of Ukraine."
The Aequo team was led by Partner Yulia Kyrpa and included Counsel Bohdan Dmukhovskyy and Associate Olesia Mashtaler.
