The Investment Centre's cooperative programme with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invests in countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. Since 1994 to 2008, EBRD has approved 28 projects for a total value of over USD1 million, prepared with Centre experience.

EBRD is distinctive among the Investment Centre's partners as it concentrates on private sector development. It promotes transition of its countries of operation to a market economy. In the agricultural sector, EBRD's approach is consumer demand-driven. It provides finance to agro-industrial and marketing ventures - which in turn offer market opportunities to thousands of local farmers throughout the region. The Bank's value-added is to take financial risks that private banks would not typically take. However, the projects it finances need to be financially and commercially sound.

EBRD also finances smaller agricultural enterprises through credit lines channelled by existing local banks or newly-created credit institutions dedicated to micro enterprises.

The Investment Centre helps EBRD to:

• improve the policy environment of its investment projects and carry out research on specific subsectors such as oilseeds and sugar
• assess the demand for credit lines targeting small local rural entreprises
• identify agribusiness investment opportunities, in particular in Early Transition Countries
• establish partnerships with other financial institutions operating in the region through the EastAgri initiative.

Recent projects worked on with EBRD include:

• Kazakhstan – Support to Sunflower Seed Sector
• Russian Federation - Analysis of the Agribusiness Sector in Southern Russia
• Russian Federation - Review of the Fisheries Sector
• Georgia - Implementation of a Wine Law
• Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - Micro and Small Enterprise Finance Facility