July 4 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Fund (EIF) has signed a guarantee agreement with Croatia-based Erste&Steiermarkische Bank and Erste&Steiermarkische S-Leasing, which will allow the bank to provide 100 million euro ($113.5 million) in lending to innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the lender said on Tuesday.
The agreement was signed within the framework of the European Commission's InnovFin initiative and is made possible through the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), Erste&Steiermarkische Bank said in a statement.
"The guarantee agreement will enable us to pledge 100 million euro in loans to innovative entrepreneurs at favorable terms over the next two years", a member of the Erste management board, Boris Centner, said.
The agreement will allow small and medium-sized companies in Croatia to access the funding they need for innovation, growth and job creation, the European Commission vice-president for jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness, Jyrki Katainen, said in the statement.
"Small and medium businesses are key to the economy. They are the initiators of new technologies and new opportunities. With the help of the European Investment Fund, we want to give these companies the chance to succeed in Croatia as well as in Europe", Katainen noted.
($=0.880990 euro)