* **EBRD invests €40 million in Poland’s CVI Private Debt Fund II**
* **Fund to provide financing to underserved SMEs in Poland and the wider CEE region**
* **Investment to support growth of private credit amid constrained bank and equity financing**
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the growth of alternative private capital in [Poland](/home/what-we-do/where-we-invest/poland.html) by investing €40 million in CVI Private Debt Fund II, a fund managed by CVI Dom Maklerski, a Polish private credit focused fund manager.
The fund, which achieved several closings since Q1 2024, [now totals €181 million](https://cvi.pl/en/news/cvi-tworzy-drugi-instytucjonalny-fundusz-private-debt/) in capital commitments and will provide flexible debt financing solutions to underserved small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Poland and across the wider Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Investors in the fund include the European Investment Fund, the International Finance Corporation, the Polish Development Fund as well as local private investors. In line with CVI’s experience, the fund will take a sector-agnostic approach and issue senior loans to a variety of companies.
The availability of growth financing for SMEs remains restricted across CEE and is being constrained further by the current high interest rate environment. At the same time, unlike in the western European and US markets, private credit remains a niche asset class in the region, with a very limited number of managers able to raise successive funds from a diversified set of institutional investors.
In this context and with increasing liquidity demand from SMEs operating across CEE, the EBRD’s support to private credit via its relationship with a well-established player such as CVI can increase access to finance for SMEs and support the development of a well-functioning, balanced and diversified ecosystem for risk capital.
Andreea Moraru, EBRD Regional Head of Poland and the Baltic States, said: “We are pleased to strengthen our cooperation with an established investor such as CVI, to support innovative debt financing solutions for underserved SMEs in Poland and the wider CEE. The EBRD’s commitment, alongside that of the other development finance institutions and local private commercial investors will also provide a strong signal to the market and help CVI attract additional institutional capital for the fund.”
CVI is a leading private credit-focused investor in CEE. It has completed more than 700 private debt transactions and invested almost €3 billion providing primarily senior credit solutions to SMEs in Poland and the wider CEE.
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Poland, having invested almost €16 billion in the country to date across 560 projects, including a record €1.43 billion in 2024.