EIF and the Republic of Cyprus sign an agreement set to help small businesses

The Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises initiative, known as JEREMIE, is a joint initiative of the European Commission with the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, represented by the EIF, to promote access to finance for SMEs through tailor-made financial engineering products in the regions of the European Union.

The Republic of Cyprus has appointed the EIF as the JEREMIE Holding Fund Manager. The EIF, in collaboration with local Financial Institutions, will have the responsibility for designing and implementing suitable financial products such as loans, guarantees, venture capital, and microfinance, to support eligible SMEs.

The signing of this agreement is particularly significant given the tightening of credit conditions, since the products to be launched are expected to result in improved financing terms for the SMEs, potentially in the form of attractive interest rates, longer loan repayment and grace periods and lower collateral requirements.

About JEREMIE

JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises) is a joint initiative launched by the European Commission (DG Regio) and the EIB group to improve access to finance for SMEs in the EU within the Structural Funds framework for the period 2007 - 2013. JEREMIE enables the EU Member States and Regions to put money from the structural funds and also national resources into holding funds that can finance SMEs in a flexible and innovative way. Since the products will be provided on a repayment basis, funding will be reinvested and hence more SME's will benefit from the EU resources.

The new initiative aims at developing and fostering the role of entrepreneurship within the EU in order to meet the objectives of the Lisbon agenda and help structural funds to deliver greater benefits to the market.

For further information on JEREMIE in Cyprus click here

For further information, please contact David Yormesor, +352 42 66 88 243, jeremie@eif.org or visit www.eif.org/jeremie