November 29 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the European Investment Bank Group, said on Tuesday it has signed a 50 million euro ($52 million) guarantee agreement with Erste&Steiermarkische Bank, part of Austria's Erste group, to support sustainability, innovation and digitalisation of Croatian small businesses, as well as the development of the cultural and creative sectors.
“Today’s agreement marks an important milestone in our fruitful cooperation, as this is the first signature under the InvestEU Fund in Croatia and one of the first in the entire European Union. This financing will enable the profound transformation of the Croatian economy towards a more sustainable, digital, inclusive and competitive model,” Hubert Cottogni, director in the EIF’s mandate management department, said in a press release.
To date, in partnership with the EIB and the EIF, Erste&Steiermarkische Bank has provided a total of 290 million euro in funding and 515 million euro in loans supported by EGF and InnovFin guarantee instruments to its clients, the president of the management board of Erste&Steiermarkische Bank Christoph Schoefboeck said.
($ =0.964 euro)