15th August 2026, Skopje – Funds extended by the Hungarian Export Import Bank under favourable terms and conditions are not considered budget expenditure, but rather an investment, as supporting domestic companies is an investment in economic growth, the Minister of Finance, Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska, wrote on her FB profile.
“More than two years ago, we recognized the need to support the development of companies with ideas and investment potential, for which more accessible and favourable financing was essential. Therefore, together with the business sector and the banks, we developed a model under which EUR 250 million was made available to finance development investments in the domestic private sector under highly favourable terms and conditions, with the funds easily accessible to the final beneficiaries,” the post reads.
She stated that the first tranche to domestic companies was disbursed in March last year, and that, to date, a total of EUR 239 million has been injected into the Macedonian economy, helping to drive a significant investment cycle in the private sector and contributing to increased production, new jobs and boosted competitiveness of domestic companies.
“The Government’s objective was to identify the needs of domestic companies and create conditions for those needs to be translated into actual investments. The interest shown demonstrated that the measure addressed the real needs of businesses. We embarked on this project with a clear goal: to stimulate a significant investment cycle in the domestic economy by supporting private investments. The impact is even greater because the companies themselves, with their own funds, complement the financing secured by the Government,” the Minister of Finance noted.
The key issue now, the Minister noted, is not the amount of funding made available, but rather the impact such access to capital and increased investment are having on economic activity, with the indicators showing encouraging results. Corporate lending recorded an average annual growth rate of 15% during the implementation of the measure, ranging between 13.5% and 16.5% from March last year to June this year, which indicates increased credit activity and improved access to financing for companies. GDP growth in the first quarter of 2026 stood at 3.1%, following growth of 3.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, and of 3.8% in both the third and second quarter, respectively. Public and private investments are among the most significant contributors to economic growth.
Positive and encouraging signals can be seen in exports, industrial production and employment, the post reads.
“All data suggest that economic activity is headed in the desired direction, pointing to the positive effects of the policies being implemented. That is why support to the domestic business is seen as an investment in economic growth. These data are important because they demonstrate that the effectiveness of economic policies should be assessed based on concrete results and changes in the real economy. The Government’s objective is clear: more investments, increased production, stronger domestic companies, job creation, a more competitive domestic economy and sustainable economic growth,” Minister Dimitrieska-Kochoska said in her post.
She underscored that the Government is committed to creating and implementing measures that will enable companies to grow, invest and generate value added for the economy as a whole.
