good.bee is the Micro-Banking and Social Enterprise Finance business of Erste Group. It was set up by the Erste Foundation and Erste Group in 2008 to develop innovative solutions to break down barriers to financial inclusion in Central and Eastern Europe.
The business is currently managed by two good.bee-branded legal entities in Romania and in several countries in CEE as initiatives of Erste Group banks.
Micro-Banking good.bee Credit was launched in October 2009 in partnership with the Center for Economic Development Foundation, a successful local microfinance organisation. Good.bee Credit provides microloans in the rural regions of Romania, in particular to small-scale farmers and other agricultural microbusinesses alongside basic financial education.
Good.bee Mobile Transactions is good.bee’s approach to micropayments. It is a basic bank product a customer can access without ever visiting a bank. The product offers an alternative for sending and receiving payments via mobile phone technology, and consists of an affordable current account and debit card (both issued by Banca Comerciala Romana, or BCR) distributed through an independent sales network. The product was established in cooperation with WIZZIT International Ltd. Of South Africa, a global pioneer in mobile banking. Launched in March 2009, the product is now offered by BCR.
While there are various financing options and instruments for commercial companies, the social sector is largely “underbanked”. Through local Erste Group banks, good.bee offers financial solutions to suit the needs of the social sector. Local support networks offer capacity building for social entrepreneurs, helping them to acquire knowledge and skills to become successful in their ventures. In 2010, the first social enterprises have been financed in Austria.
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