Spanish Ministry of Economy and EIF increase Regional Resilience Fund allocation by €200 million to support small businesses through non-bank financing

The Spanish Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise and the European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the EIB Group, are doubling the initial allocation of the Regional Resilience Fund’s Alternative Lending for Sustainable Development instrument. Initially endowed with €200 million, the increase to €400 million is being made in response to the strong demand for this financial instrument managed by the EIF.

These funds will be channelled through financial institutions that offer debt solutions for small and medium businesses to invest in sustainable development projects, complementing traditional bank loans and expanding the financing options for small businesses in innovation, sustainability and competitiveness. The instrument is one of two launched by the EIF under the Regional Resilience Fund.

The Regional Resilience Fund directs funding from Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (part of the NextGenerationEU programme) to drive environmental and social investment in its autonomous communities. It is led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise and managed in collaboration with the EIB Group.

The EIF has already signed operations with seven funds through the Alternative Lending for Sustainable Development instrument: Arcano Private Debt Fund II, IB Deuda Impacto España, Talde Deuda Alternativa II, Oquendo Senior Debt III, Alteralia III, Amiral Climate Solutions Debt Fund I and Kartesia Asset Finance III. These funds are channelling investment into energy efficiency, circular economy, renewable energy and social impact projects, among others.

The increase aims to respond to the growing demand that still exists in the market for this type of financing.

The EIF is part of the EIB Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s microenterprises and SMEs by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, it contributes to the achievement of key EU policy goals such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability.

The Regional Resilience Fund (FRA) was created to facilitate access to NextGenerationEU loans from the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for the autonomous communities, with the aim of boosting investments and developing projects in eight priority areas: social and affordable housing; urban renewal; transport and sustainable tourism; the energy transition; water and waste management; the care economy; research, development and innovation; and the competitiveness of industry and SMEs.

The fund is led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, which takes input from the autonomous communities and cities for investment decision-making and looks to the EIB Group as a strategic management partner.

In June 2024, the EIB Group and the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise signed the agreement to launch the Regional Resilience Fund, including:

• a direct financing mechanism, to co-finance EIB-supported operations in sectors like renewable energy, clean transport and sustainable infrastructure;
• an intermediated mechanism managed by financial intermediaries selected by the EIB, to support projects in urban development and sustainable tourism;
• two instruments intermediated by the European Investment Fund that will facilitate SME financing for innovation, sustainability and competitiveness.