OREANDA-NEWS. December 23, 2008. The EBRD is providing the leading Russian wireless broadband operator, Prestige Internet - wholly owned by Enforta B.V. - with a US 15 million four-year loan to support the company’s further expansion and refinance an existing US 5 million loan, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

Enforta is present in all cities with more than one million inhabitants and the company aims to have subscribers in almost 70 Russian cities. Enforta is next planning to expand into smaller cities of over 250,000 inhabitants and towns of under 100,000 inhabitants surrounding regional capitals.

This ambitious expansion plan requires new funds which, under current market conditions, are extremely difficult to find.

With this transaction the EBRD, which holds a 6.46 per cent-stake in Prestige Internet’s parent company Enforta B.V., is setting an example for the market on the need to support successful corporates in this difficult economic context.

The additional funds are also an expression of the Bank’s confidence in Enforta’s business approach and strategy. In a country which spans over 11 time zones as Russia does, the internet appears to be the logical form of communication, yet penetration is still far below Western levels due to high and expensive investment needs.

Enforta is basing its operations on technology which is especially suited to the country (WiMAX) and has established itself as a market leader, inter alia, among clients in the small and medium-sized enterprises’ sector.

Michelle Senecal De Fonseca, EBRD Director for Telecommunications, said “especially corporate clients and entrepreneurs outside the major cities of Russia will benefit from the further successful expansion of Enforta.”

With roughly 25,000 new Russian users going online for the first time every day, the expansion of operators like Enforta is an important contribution to the diversification of the Russian economy which under current circumstances is more pressing than ever, Ms. Senecal De Fonseca added.

The strengthening of Enforta will also enhance competition in the Russian market, which will benefit private and commercial customers. The expansion of Enforta will thus demonstrate a viable alternative to operations based on fixed-line infrastructure and the limitations which apply to it, particularly in smaller cities.