Madrid, 28 January 2025: The European Investment Fund (EIF) – part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group – has invested €25 million in the fund IB Deuda Impacto España, which finances Spanish companies in areas with high social impact, such as rural development, inclusive labour markets, climate and environment, circular economy, sustainable agriculture and gender equality.
IB Deuda Impacto España has a target volume of €150 million and is managed by Impact Bridge Asset Management, a Spanish fund manager specialised in social impact investment. It is the first and only private debt impact fund focused on Spain, and aims to finance 40 social and environmental projects in the country. In addition to the EIF, it is backed by MicroBank, the social impact arm of CaixaBank, and is registered as a European Social Entrepreneurship Fund (EuSEF).
Maria Samoilova and and Marco Marrone, Chief Investment Officer EIF
This is the second EIF investment made through the Alternative Lending Instrument for Sustainable Development, which invests in alternative finance providers to expand the financing options for small and medium businesses (SMEs) to increase innovation, sustainability and competitiveness. The instrument is one of two launched by the EIF through the Regional Resilience Fund.
This 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. The fund is led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise and is supported by the autonomous communities and cities and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) and managed in collaboration with the EIB Group.
Spanish Treasury Director General for International Finance, Inés Carpio, underlined “the importance of this initiative for companies to have the best financing framework that allows them to develop their projects, while reinforcing social and territorial cohesion and gender equality, the main pillars of the Spanish Recovery Plan”.
EIF Chief Investment Officer, Marco Marrone, said, “This investment strengthens our cooperation with Impact Bridge to provide alternative financing options for Spanish SMEs that are committed to an inclusive, sustainable economy. Through this second financing operation, supported by the Regional Resilience Fund, the EIF is investing for the greatest social impact, to promote rural development, labour inclusion and sustainable agriculture, among other objectives.”
Maria Samoilova, Managing Partner of Impact Bridge and Head of IB Deuda Impacto España, said, “We are deeply grateful to the EIF for once again offering its trust and support, which are critical to the success of Impact Bridge. This new commitment means we can continue helping transformative initiatives reach fruition, and highlights the importance of engaging with strategic partners, like the EIF. IB Deuda Impacto España channels funds into a sturdy portfolio of high-potential projects that we have identified on the market. Together, we are helping them make a real impact on the issues, communities and sectors that need it most.”
IB Deuda Impacto España had previously received another €30 million EIF investment, with funds from the InvestEU programme. This comes alongside the €25 million (allocated under the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan) being channelled through the Regional Resilience Fund and its Alternative Lending Instrument for Sustainable Development, intermediated by the EIF.
Background information
About the Regional Resilience Fund
The Regional Resilience Fund 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 relies on the autonomous communities and cities to perform project selection and on 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 and activate the first phase of available financing totalling up to €3.4 billion, including:
About the European Investment Fund
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.
About Impact Bridge Asset Management
Impact Bridge is a Spanish asset management company serving institutional investors, with more than €300 million under management. It is specialised in quality social impact investment, and focuses on projects that generate impact that is authentic, intentional and measurable. Founded in 2018, it has a team of professionals with extensive experience in the most prestigious institutions in asset management, sustainable investment, social impact and academia. Its investor base consists of institutional investors like pension funds, foundations and family offices.
Press contacts
EIF
Maite Cordero | m.corderomunoz@eib.org | Tel.: +34 606 66 82 62
Website: www.eif.org | Press Office: +352 4379 21000 | press@eib.org
X: @eif_eu
Impact Bridge
Silvia Gimeno | sgimeno@quum.com | Mobile: +34 616 692 807
Website: https://www.impactbridge.com
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