May 7 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Fund said on Monday it has signed an agreement with UniCredit banking group to increase support for innovative small and medium-sized firms and small mid-caps in eight countries, including five in Southeast Europe, to 500 million euro.
The new agreement will allow UniCredit to offer, both via its banks and leasing units, additional financing worth 340 million euro to innovative companies in Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Serbia, the European Investment Fund (EIF) said in a press release.
This new support under InnovFin SME guarantee facility will add up to the initially signed portfolio of 160 million euro, taking total financing to which innovative SMEs across the eight countries will have access, to half a billion euro, EIF added.
The banks in Bosnia and Serbia will benefit from the support of a guarantee provided by EIF and backed under Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation programme. The guarantee agreements with the banks in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania will be backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).
"With the increase to this umbrella agreements announced today, more than 500 innovative SMEs will benefit from new financing options delivered by UniCredit in eight different countries through its 13 subsidiaries," EIF chief executive, Pier Luigi Gilibert, said.
EIF is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe's SMEs by helping them access finance.
EFSI is the main pillar of the Juncker Plan and provides first loss guarantees, enabling the EIB to invest in more projects that often come with greater risks.
The InnovFin SME guarantee facility is established under the “EU InnovFin Finance for Innovators” initiative backed by Horizon 2020. It provides guarantees and counter-guarantees on debt financing of between 25,000 euro and 7.5 million euro in order to improve access to loan finance for innovative SMEs and mid-caps (up to 499 employees).
($=0.8361 euro)