Page 3 - EIF_CIP case studies

Both facilities are implemented through the European Investment Fund and the total budget for 2007‑13 is EUR 1.1 billion. Previous generations of these facilities have shown that each euro of EU budget spent generates 68 euro in loans or more than six euro of venture investments into SMEs. The two facilities differ in the amounts of fnancing. Investments under GIF are typically in the order of millions of euro and will reach several hundred SMEs. The amount of guaranteed loans will generally be in thousands of euro, but we plan to reach approximately 315,000 SMEs.

The facilities can be offered in up to 35 countries. The programme is demand-driven and the facilities are available in countries where fnancial institutions apply to participate.

Financial institutions interested in participating in the programme should contact the European Investment Fund (www.eif.org), which manages the instruments.

SMEs wishing to apply for an equity investment or a guaranteed loan will fnd contact details for fnance providers on the Access to Finance website (www.access2fnance.eu).

The fnancial instruments under the 2007-13 Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme aim to facilitate access to equity and loans for SMEs. There are two kinds of fnancial instruments:

The high growth and innovative SME facility (GIF)

This facility supports innovation in Europe. The EU invests, alongside other private and public investors, into venture capital funds which then look for and invest in young, growth-orientated and innovative SMEs. In addition to equity, the venture capital funds actively support the SMEs with management and fnancing know-how and help them create jobs and innovative products and services. GIF has in‑built incentives to support investments into environmental innovation.

The SME guarantee facility (SMEG)

The facility supports competitiveness and employment. It provides loan guarantees to encourage banks to make more debt fnance available to SMEs, including micro-credit and mezzanine fnance, by reducing the banks’ exposure to risk. In return for the guarantee, banks have to offer better fnancing conditions or lend more to SMEs.

What are the CIP Financial Instruments?