March 2 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Bulgaria’s DSK Bank have signed an agreement that will make available 15 million euro ($15.8 million) worth of loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bulgaria, the European Commission said on Thursday.
“The EIF is providing a guarantee that will enable DSK Bank to provide loans on advantageous terms to SMEs which would otherwise not have been able to access finance,” the Commission said in a press release.
The agreement, concluded as part of the Commission’s InnovFin initiative, will be financed through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which is the central pillar of the so-called Juncker Plan.
InnovFin is a joint initiative launched by the European Investment Bank Group in cooperation with the European Commission under Horizon 2020.
The EIF is part of the European Investment Bank group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses by helping them to access finance. The EIB, the EU’s long-term lending institution, is owned by the EU member states.
($ = 0.9509 euro)