The Stichting European Palestinian Credit Guarantee Foundation (EPCGF) is the first operating guarantee scheme in Palestine designed for Small and Medium Enterprises.
Established in December, 2005 the Fund (European Palestinian Credit Guarantee Fund) commenced operations as a Program Unit (PU) under the direction of the Long-Term Expert.
The Supervisory committee through the LTE oversaw the management of the Program Unit whose members included representatives from KfW, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, and the Palestinian Ministry of Finance in addition to EPCGF's management.
Since August, 2015 the Fund was registered as a Foundation under the Foundation law in the Netherlands. Therefore, the new name "Stichting European Palestinian Credit Guarantee Foundation" was given. It has been the intention from the start to establish a permanent legal institution that serves the development objectives of our stakeholders. The foundation creates a permanent and viable structure to better serve our partners on a long-term basis and to provide for flexibility to design new SME products in the future.
EPCGF’s main goals are to enhance SME competitiveness and, on a sustainable basis, support income generation, employment creation, and poverty reduction. The Foundation represents a good mechanism and opportunity for participating partner banks to tap the often-neglected SME market segment and broaden their outreach by making access to finance easier by this large sector of the economy through a risk-sharing formula.
Additionally, EPCGF provides an additional level of comfort to lending institutions in dealing with SMEs given the elevated degree of risk associated with this segment of the market.
A pioneering institution in stimulating private sector economic growth and development, operating in line with best international practices.
Contributing to economic development by stimulating investments in MSMEs through loan guarantees, lending, investment in innovative projects, and technical assistance support.