Brussels, 03/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Small Business Support (SBS) team of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) officially launched its activities in Tunisia on 27 March 2014, an official European source has announced. EBRD representative in Tunis, Marie-Alexandra Veilleux, said the aid for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is crucial because smaller businesses “are the backbone of the Tunisian economy”. A team has been in place since the end of March. The European Union has allocated €1.1 million for these activities through the neighbourhood investment facility (NIF), in addition to the funding from the Multi-donor Account and the SEMED (South-East Mediterranean) cooperation funds account. The same source notes that, since the start of its operation in Tunisia in September 2012, the EBRD “has helped more than 70 SMEs access high-quality business advice and technical assistance” and “has invested €114 million across ten projects in the country”. (FB)