Page 10 - Annual Report 2010

ANNUAL REPORT 2010

8

Strategic statement

capital for its shareholders through an appropriate pri­cing policy and a balance of fee and risk-based income. In this context, EIF constantly collaborates with manda-

tors (capi tal providers) and po -tential mandators to develop new innovative f inancial engineering products which respond to existing and future market and SME needs. Additionally, in line with its objec-tives, EIF aims to expand its reach to new regions and Member States to continue to improve access to fi-nance for European SMEs.

EIF acquired in 2010 new capacity under the EU policy- driven initiative European Progress Microfinance Facil -ity (EPMF). This facility has a particular focus on micro-borrowers, micro-entrepreneurs and groups with limited access to the conventional banking system and will serve as an umbrella initiative grouping the existing EIF microfi-nance activities.

Going forward, EIF will intensify its efforts to engage with corporates and strategic investors in view of developing and launching new as well as sector-specific products to address market needs. Moreover, participating in the EU 2020 Strategy and more specifically the Innovation Policy, EIF will be act ively involved in an ambit ious initiative developed at European level in the fields of intel lectual proper t y and patents to respond to the growing needs of SMEs.

EIF remains a leading-edge modern institution, able to respond rapidly to evolving market conditions, attracting and developing talented staff and maintaining the highest standards of compliance and integrity.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is Europe’s leading developer of risk financing for entrepreneurship and in-novation. EIF delivers a wide spectrum of financing solu-tions for SMEs through selected in-termediaries including venture and growth capital funds, banks and guarantee institutions which specifi-cally target this market segment.

By taking SME risk, EIF promotes entrepreneurship, innovat ion, job creation and regional development.

EIF plays a crucial role throughout

the value chain of enterprise creation, from the earliest stages of intellectual property development to mid and later-stages. While EIF’s equity instruments aim to improve the availability of risk capital for high-growth and inno-vative SMEs, EIF also targets the debt requirements of SMEs providing guarantees and credit enhancement and improving the lending capacity of financial intermediaries to benefit SMEs.

EIF’s investments aim to leverage its own funds and those available through mandates (resources), given by the European Investment Bank (EIB) (the Risk Capital Man-date, or RCM, and the Mezzanine Facility for Growth, or MFG), the EU (including the Competitiveness and Innova-tion Framework Programme, or CIP, the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises or JEREMIE), Member States and other third parties.

Owned by the EIB (61.2%), the EU, through the European Commission (30%) and 28 public and private financial institutions (8.8%), EIF has dual statutory goals to support EU policy objectives and to make a reasonable return on

EIF promotes entrepreneurship

, innovation

, job creation and regional development.