LMDIF Western Balkans Fund

• Eligibility: Media located in or serving audiences in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
• Target Region: Balkans
• Application Language: English

MDIF Western Balkans Fund is a strategic initiative to foster growth and resilience in independent media in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. It takes a holistic investment approach, utilizing a versatile strategy of loans, equity and quasi-equity supported by media business expertise. The Fund focuses investments on innovative start-ups, growth media undergoing digital transformation and protecting independent media from capture. The Fund seeks to bridge the financing gap that often hinders growth, and supports the development of robust, financially and editorially independent media companies that are able to support the advancement of their societies.

Eligibility

• Applicants must demonstrate dedication to providing unique, credible and independent news in the public interest within the Western Balkans.
• Applicants must actively contribute to addressing issues of accountability and strengthening public debate in the region.
• Applicants must uphold principles of transparency, human rights and equal rights for all, irrespective of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion and other subjects of discrimination.
• Ownership must be independent of government or any other political or economic interests.
• Applicants must be located in or serving audiences in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

Requirements

• The Fund catalyses capital, mobilizing financing to empower independent media enterprises in the region through no-strings-attached financing that drives growth and protects independen
• The amount MDIF invests in each company is dependent on many factors, including the stage of company development and the total round-size and location. When applying, please provide the total amount of money you are raising and how much of the round has already been raised (if any).
• MDIF’s media expertise and more than two decades of working in the Western Balkans give the Fund a unique approach. MDIF’s experience and networks ensure quality deal flow, and mission-screening by their Board of Directors ensures alignment with the fund’s mission objectives.

How to apply

You can send in your application to gro.fidm@fbw. If you have a question that isn’t answered on the website, please contact gro.fidm@fbw.

For more information, please visit this page.