The European Investment Fund (EIF) and The Danish Growth Fund (Vaekstfonden) have signed the first COSME agreement in Denmark, benefiting from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe.

The COSME counter-guarantee agreement will allow The Danish Growth Fund to support DKK 360 million (c. EUR 48 million) of loans to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Denmark over the next two years. The loans will be provided thanks to a counter-guarantee from EIF under the COSME programme with financial backing from the European Commission. The agreement will make it possible for Vaekstfonden to support additional financing at favourable conditions to approximately 250 SMEs.

Commenting on the signature, EIF Chief Executive, Pier Luigi Gilibert said: “I am pleased to be signing our first Danish COSME EFSI agreement with our long-term partner The Danish Growth Fund for the benefit of businesses in Denmark. In addition to the transaction signed with The Danish Growth Fund last year, I am convinced that together we can reach out to even more SMEs in Denmark”.

EU Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: "The EFSI agreement between the EIF and Vækstfonden is very good news for Danish SMEs, especially the most innovative ones, in need of risk capital to grow their businesses and increase their competitiveness. The Investment Plan for Europe is bearing fruit in Denmark!"

The Danish Minister of Business and Growth, Troels Lund Poulsen, added: “With this agreement we see the first results of Juncker’s Investment Plan on Danish soil, and I am very pleased that we hereby have secured further risk capital for Danish companies with growth potential.”

This deal reflects the EIB Group’s commitment to respond swiftly to calls from Member States, the European Commission and the European Parliament for a rapid launch of concrete initiatives under EFSI, accelerating lending and guaranteeing transactions capable of boosting jobs and growth in the EU.

About the EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment.

About The Danish Growth Fund (Vaekstfonden)

The Danish Growth Fund is a state investment fund that contributes to the creation of new companies by providing capital and expertise. Since 1992, The Danish Growth Fund has together with private investors co-financed growth in more than 5,000 Danish companies with a total commitment of more than DKK 12 billion. The Danish Growth Fund invests equity and provides loans and guarantees for small as well as medium-sized enterprises in collaboration with private partners and Danish financial institutions. See more here http://www.vf.dk/saadan-goer-vi/vaekstkaution.aspx.

About COSME

COSME is the EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) running from 2014 to 2020 with a total budget of EUR 2.3 billion. At least 60% of the programme will be devoted to ease access to finance for SMEs in Europe. The COSME programme builds on the success of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) (2007-2013) which helped to mobilise more than EUR 20 billion of loans and EUR 3 billion of venture capital to over 377,000 SMEs in Europe. Businesses can contact selected financial institutions in their country to access EU financing: http://www.access2finance.eu/

Businesses can contact selected financial institutions in their country to access EU financing: http://www.access2finance.eu/

About the Investment Plan for Europe

The Investment Plan focuses on removing obstacles to investment, providing visibility and technical assistance to investment projects and making smarter use of new and existing financial resources. The Investment Plan is already showing results. The European Investment Bank (EIB) estimates that by February 2016, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) triggered more than €60 billion of investment in Europe.

Find out the state of play as of January 2016, including a break-down by sector and by country. For more information see the FAQs.

Press contacts:

EIF: David Yormesor
Tel.: +352 42 66 88 346, e-mail: d.yormesor@eif.org

The Danish Ministry of Business and Growth: Kim Bové
Tel.: 91 33 70 15, e-mail: kkb@evm.dk

The Danish Growth Fund (Vaekstfonden): Peter Bruun
Tel.: +45 40 81 35 46, e-mail: pbr@vf.dk

HIGHLIGHTS