News
CEB and Cooperative Bank of Karditsa expand partnership to boost microfinance and social resilience in Greece
22 June 2026
Paris – The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and the Cooperative Bank of Karditsa (CBK) have signed a €10 million Framework Loan Agreement alongside a €718 410 grant agreement to scale up support for micro-enterprises and the social economy in Thessaly and neighbouring regions.
The €10 million Programme Loan builds upon the initial €2 million operation approved in 2021 and fully allocated by 2025, marking a significant step forward in cooperation between the CEB and CBK.
The new financing is specifically targeted at enabling micro-enterprises and social economy entities to access the funding necessary to support job creation and preservation, focusing heavily on underserved rural communities that face the greatest barriers to conventional finance.
The operation benefits from support from the European Union under the InvestEU Fund and ESF+ programme, while the new loan is backed by an InvestEU guarantee under the “InvestEU Microfinance and Social Economy Finance Framework Operation.
In tandem with the loan, the signature of the €718 410 grant agreement launches the "BRIDGE Thessaly" initiative: Building Resilience through Inclusive Development, Growth & Entrepreneurship in Thessaly. This InvestEU Blending Facility for Microfinance initiative recognises that finance alone is not sufficient to generate lasting economic health. The grant will empower vulnerable and underserved groups – including youth who are not in education, employment, or training (NEETs), women, third-country nationals, ethnic minorities, and low-income or unemployed individuals – by funding comprehensive support networks. This includes training, business coaching, mentoring, community events, as well as interest rate subsidies designed to cultivate financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and local social cohesion.
“This second operation focuses on microfinance and social economy entities,” CBK President George Boukis stated. “It targets those facing the greatest barriers to finance and supports jobs, resilience and social cohesion. By combining financing, guarantees and targeted support services – including training, mentoring, coaching and interest rate subsidies – it will help expand access to opportunities for vulnerable micro-entrepreneurs. Through this cooperation with the CEB, we are strengthening our capacity to reach underserved communities and support inclusive local development.”
“Today’s signature strengthens our partnership with the Cooperative Bank of Karditsa, building on our first operation completed in 2025”, said CEB Governor Carlo Monticelli. “With support from the partnership with the InvestEU Advisory Hub, the CEB will be able to go the extra mile in supporting micro-entrepreneurs in Thessaly and neighbouring regions of Greece, especially underserved rural communities. But the deal includes much more than finance; it provides support for initiatives to upgrade skills, create opportunities and build confidence.”
“For us at the Cooperative Bank of Karditsa, this agreement is about staying close to the people who hold our local economy together,” said CBK CEO Panos Tournavitis. “With BRIDGE Thessaly we can group financing, training and advice together in a one-stop shop, so that at no point should anyone have to build their business alone. This is what cooperative, values-based banking means to us in practice and we are proud to take it a step further together with the CEB.”
Media contacts:
Eleni Bletsa, CBK Press Office, email: info@bankofkarditsa.com
Rory Clarke, CEB Communication Unit, email: CEBcommunications@coebank.org
About the CEB
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is a multilateral development bank with an exclusively social mandate from its 43 member countries. The CEB finances investment projects and provides technical assistance in social sectors such as education, health and affordable housing, while focusing on the needs of vulnerable people, as well as on the social dimensions of climate change and the environment. Borrowers include governments, local and regional authorities, public and private banks, non-profit organisations and others. The CEB, which has a triple-A credit rating, funds itself through international capital markets. In addition, the CEB receives funds from donors to complement its activities.
About CBK
Cooperative Bank of Karditsa Coop.L.L. (CBK) was founded in 1994. It operates as a regional cooperative bank and provides retail banking services to natural persons, self-employed professionals and MSMEs, most of which are in the prefecture of Karditsa, part of the Thessaly administrative region in mainland Greece. The Bank dynamically supports the development of the local economy and is highly committed to fostering microfinance and access to finance of social enterprises. CBK is also a member of European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks (FEBEA), Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), European Microfinance Network (EMN) and Microfinance Centre (MFC). Visit CBK’s website here: https://www.bankofkarditsa.com.gr/en/