What we do
Institutional investors
Equity products
AI Co-Investment Facility
Cleantech Co-Investment Facility
Impact investing at the EIF
Climate & Infrastructure Funds
Technology Transfer
European Angels Fund (EAF) - Co-investments with Business Angels
Venture capital
The Social Impact Accelerator (SIA)
Lower mid-market
Mezzanine Facility for Growth
VentureEU
EFSI Equity instrument
Single EU Equity Financial Instrument
COSME - Equity Facility for Growth
InnovFin Equity
Private equity secondary market transactions
EIF-NPI Equity Platform
ESCALAR Programme
Debt products
New ESIF ERDF Guarantee Fund initiative in Greece
EFSI Private Credit Programme
AGRI Guarantee Facility
AGRI Italy Platform Uncapped Guarantee Instrument
Credit enhancement
Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility (CCS GF)
ENSI - Securitisation Initiative
Erasmus+ Master Loan Guarantee Facility
Skills & Education Guarantee Pilot
EREM debt products
Single EU Debt Financial Instrument
Documentary Finance Facility – Bulgaria
The SME Initiative
The SME Initiative Bulgaria
The SME Initiative Finland
The SME Initiative Italy
The SME Initiative Malta
The SME Initiative Romania
The SME Initiative Spain
Inclusive finance
EaSI Financial Instruments
EaSI Capacity Building Investments Window
EaSI Guarantee Instrument
EaSI Funded Instrument
European Progress Microfinance Facility
Entrepreneurs supported through Progress Microfinance
European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)
How does EIF contribute to EFSI
How to apply for EFSI financing
Regional Development - Country and sector-specific initiatives
Normandie Garantie Agri
FAIRE - La Réunion
Auvergne Rhône-Alpes FEADER
Recovery Equity Fund of Funds of Bulgaria
Fons d’Inversió en Tecnologia Avançada (FITA) Catalonia
Dutch Future Fund (DFF)
Dutch Alternative Credit Instrument (DACI)
PORTUGAL BLUE: a new initiative for blue economy investments
JEREMIE Greece Reflows – Business Angels’ Co-Investment Equity Instrument
German Corona Matching Facility (CMF)
Portugal Growth programme
Central and Eastern European Technology Transfer (CEETT)
Croatian Growth Investment Programme (CROGIP) II
Croatian Growth Investment Programme (CROGIP)
Croatian Venture Capital Initiative 2 (CVCi 2)
AGRI Italy Platform Uncapped Guarantee Instrument
DISPOSITIF INSTRUMENTS FINANCIERS BOURGOGNE FRANCHE-COMTÉ
ALTER’NA – ESIF EARFD Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Baltic Innovation Fund 1 (BIF 1)
Baltic Innovation Fund 2 (BIF 2)
Central Europe Fund of Funds (CEFoF)
Croatian Venture Capital Initiative (CVCi FoF)
Competitiveness Fund-of-Funds for SMEs in Romania
The Cyprus Entrepreneurship Fund (CYPEF)
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Initiative East Guarantee Facility (DCFTA)
EU4Business Capped Guarantee
Dutch Growth Co-Investment Programme
Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI-II)
ESIF Fund-of-Funds Greece
EAFRD FoF Portugal
EAFRD FoF Romania
The ERP-EIF Facility
ERP-EIF Co-Investment Growth Facility
The LfA-EIF Facilities
The German Future Fund (GFF) - EIF Growth Facility
INAF – French National Agricultural Initiative
ESIF Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Malta
Regional Fund-of-Funds Romania
ESIF Fund-of-Funds Czech Republic
The Silesia EIF Fund of Funds
La Financière Région Réunion
The EIB Group Risk Enhancement Mandate (EREM)
EstFund
Call for Expression of Interest for FOSTER II
Greater Anatolia Guarantee Facility (GAGF)
G43 - Anatolian Venture Capital Fund Project
InvestBG Equity Instrument
JEREMIE
Romania Recovery Equity Fund of Funds
JEREMIE Romania Reflows – Equity Instrument
Luxembourg Future Fund 1 (LFF)
Luxembourg Future Fund 2
Mezzanine 'Fund of Fund' for Germany (MDD)
NEOTEC resources
Polish Growth Fund of Funds (PGFF)
Portugal Venture Capital Initiative (PVCi)
Scottish-European Growth Co-Investment Programme
Slovene Equity Growth Investment Programme (SEGIP)
Swedish Venture Initiative (SVI)
Turkish Growth and Innovation Fund (TGIF)
Western Balkans Enterprise Development & Innovation Facility (WB EDIF)
EAFRD FoF Greece
Irish Innovation Seed Fund (IISF)
RRF Czech Republic Fund of Funds

Mi Cuento: personalised children’s stories

image

“Stories and education can change the world,” says Muriel Bourgeois, co-founder of MiCuento, a company based in Barcelona that makes personalised children’s books. “I love to tell stories and to listen, and have participated in lots of story-telling festivals. That’s really where you realise that stories are so much better when you personalise them. You get total silence, total concentration. The kids join you on the journey… I’ve always wanted all kids to feature in these stories, and that’s kind of how we started doing what we do.”

MiCuento (My story) publishes personalised story books on demand. With a library of around 40 titles to choose from, clients are invited to use the names of their children, friends and family to personalise the story. “We then use technology to make it happen quickly, so that the story is adapted to their reality,” Muriel adds. “There are literally millions of possible combinations for every title. We can personalise it in 2 minutes and it can be with you within days. The children and their friends and family become the protagonists of the story.”

The beauty of this approach is that, since all books are printed on-demand, MiCuento can cater for all sorts of special requests, like adapting the text for kids with dyslexia, or using braille. “When was the last time you read a children’s story that starred a kid in a wheelchair? Well, we do that. 15% of children in Europe are dyslexic, but if you work with stock, it’s impossible to cater for them. We react to demand, so we can adapt parameters, column and line spacing and make it possible for them to enjoy these books. That can have a huge impact on their relationship with reading and knock-on effects in the form of improved self-esteem, reducing school drop-out rates, social inclusion… One mother once told me that her child doesn’t feel disheartened any more looking at a book. That’s a huge motivation for us to continue.”

The company now has a firm footing in Spain, but is looking to grow, particularly in France. With an investment from EIF-backed venture capital firm Impact Partners, Mi Cuento was able to take its first steps in scaling the business. “We started with just a few basic stories and needed more offer, more adaptability. Bringing in creators, designers, software developers and writers, we were able to grow to 43 books today, of which 15 specially made for dyslexia by the end of the year.”

MiCuento is now looking at autism and attention deficit disorder to adapt their offer accordingly. “We work with experts to address these problems. They’re neurobiological issues, not questions of cognitive capacity. If MiCuento can help a child read and understand, that’s massive for us,” Muriel explains. “Our experiences in infancy are the seed of everything we do later. The more care and self-esteem we develop early, the better it is for later. Learning to respect others, the planet, diversity…these things stay with you for life.”

Company: Mi Cuento (Spain)

Type of business: edtech; social entrepreneurship

Financial intermediary: Impact Partners

EIF financing: EFSI Sub-window 1; SIA

For further information about EIF intermediaries in Spain, please refer to: http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/where/es/index.htm

Note: Following the recent withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, we are updating the relevant EIF.org pages.

 
 

Copyright ©

 European Investment Fund   – The European Investment Fund is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.