Early Warning System

Regions

Europe and Central Asia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Countries

Croatia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Active

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Jul 19, 2023

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Studenac d.o.o.

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Agriculture and Forestry
Energy
Industry and Trade

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 18.78 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 17.75
Converted using 2023-10-09 exchange rate.

Loan Amount (USD)

$ 18.78 million

Project Cost (USD)

$ 37.55 million

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Oct 13, 2023

Disclosed by Bank Oct 9, 2023

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the EBRD, the project consists of the provision of a senior long-term loan to Studenac d.o.o., the largest food retailer in Croatia by number of stores, for acquisition of selected food retail chains in Croatia and future investments.

The loan will support the Company in its expansion efforts as well as expected further efficiency and profitability improvements.

The project will strengthen human capital development in Croatia through (i) the opening of new employment opportunities for refugees from Ukraine, particularly women and young people; (ii) the development and implementation of a new Diversity and Inclusion policy to support the integration of refugees into the workforce; and (iii) new childcare solutions.

The project will support improvements in stores' energy efficiency via implementation of high efficiency lighting, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment in both existing and new stores.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the EBRD, Studenac is an existing client of the Bank and the largest food retailer in Croatia by number of stores. The Company is owned by Enterprise Investors.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
Enterprise Investors	Parent Company	Finance	owns	Studenac d.o.o.	Client	Industry and Trade

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Client -Studenac d.o.o.:

Michal Halwa
Email: michal.halwa@studenac.hr
Phone: +385 (91) 282 8275
Website: www.studenac.hr
Address: Cetvrt Ribnjak 17 21310, Omis Croatia

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html