The multilateral Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and two EU institutions, the European Parliament and the European Commission, recently launched the Housing and Empowerment for Roma (HERO) program in Bulgaria. As part of the program, Tokuda Bank, which is based in the Bulgarian city of Sofia, will provide 200 members of the Roma community with microloans totaling EUR 490,000 (USD 550,000) as well as financial literacy training. The purpose of the loans is to fund materials for home improvement. Three Bulgarian NGOs will support the borrowers with employment coaching and training in how to perform home improvements: the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, a US-based NGO that works to improve housing quality, and two organizations that focus on serving the Roma population, Integro Association and the Trust for Social Achievement.
Member of the European Parliament Tomas Zdechovsky stated, “We started HERO as a pilot project in the Slovak Republic and Romania. The project proved to be successful in giving Roma people the foundations to start a new life. I am delighted that we can expand to Bulgaria. Roma people all around Europe deserve dignity and affordable housing. We will not stop in Bulgaria, and I hope that HERO will become EU-wide.”
CEB, which is owned by 43 member countries and is based in France, seeks to “promote social cohesion in Europe.” The predecessor of the bank was established in 1956 by the Council of Europe, a multilateral institution focused on human rights, and has since become an independent entity. As of December 2022, CEB reports EUR 19.9 billion (USD 22.3 billion) in outstanding loans and EUR 31.5 billion (USD 35.4 billion) in total assets.
Elva Montelongo, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
CEB press release
https://coebank.org/en/news-and-publications/news/hero-european-partners-launch-pilot-project-support-housing-and-financial-inclusion-roma-bulgaria/
CEB homepage
https://coebank.org/
CEB financial reports
https://coebank.org/en/investor-relations/financial-reporting/
Habitat for Humanity Bulgaria webpage
https://hfh.bg/bg/
Integro Association homepage
https://integrobg.org/
Tokuda Bank homepage
https://www.tokudabank.bg/
Trust for Social Achievement homepage
https://socialachievement.org/
Council of Europe homepage
https://www.coe.int/
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