Go Digital in the Western Balkans — EBRD-EU SME Digitalisation Loan-and-Grant Programme

SMEs across Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider Western Balkans have needed capital and support to invest in digitalisation, automation and green technology, prompting the EBRD and the EU to design a blended-finance mechanism combining commercial loans with grant incentives.

The programme channels on-lending through local partner banks so SMEs can combine a commercial loan with an EU grant incentive worth 10% of the loan amount on successful completion of the investment, plus technical assistance to align with EU standards.

The 'Go Digital in Bosnia and Herzegovina' pilot, an €11.5 million programme, ran first; building on its reported results, the EBRD and EU launched a €377 million regional programme in April 2025 — up to €350 million in EBRD on-lending plus €27.6 million in EU grants and technical assistance — across five Western Balkan economies.

The EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina reports the pilot has already helped more than 200 local companies invest in digitalisation and improve competitiveness, and the regional rollout targets roughly 750 further businesses across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia, with Montenegro set to join.

Reported figures for both the pilot and the regional rollout are largely programme-reported outputs — companies financed, capital committed — rather than independently verified productivity or competitiveness outcomes, and no third-party evaluation was located at the time of writing.