The Competitiveness Fund-of-Funds for SMEs in Romania, using the EUR 59.3 million resources from the Competitiveness Operational Programme 2014-2020, co-financed through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), was launched in September 2016 in close co-operation with the Romanian Ministry of European Funds. The initiative aims at boosting access to finance for innovative Romanian SMEs through local financial intermediaries.

The Competitiveness Operational Programme (OP) for Romania addresses the challenges stemming from the low support for research, development and innovation and the under-developed information and communication technologies services and infrastructure. By investing in these areas, the OP aims to contribute to bolster the competitiveness of the Romanian economy.

EUR 40m out of the Fund of Funds will be dedicated to entrepreneurship accelerator and seed funds for innovative companies and the remaining contribution will be dedicated to a portfolio risk sharing loan instrument. The Competitiveness Fund-of-Funds for SMEs in Romania will support new and emerging early stage venture capital fund management teams with a strong track-record and commitment to invest into SMEs in Romania, as well as local financial institutions and guarantee institutions eligible to provide loans to SMEs. The financial intermediaries will be selected after calls for expression of interest to be published for each instrument.

The initiative builds on the success of JEREMIE in Romania, which has catalysed over 6,000 new loans and investments for over EUR 600m, leveraging on the EUR 225m public resources from the Competitiveness Operational Programme 2007-2013, co-financed through ERDF.

Who is eligible* to become financial intermediary under Competitiveness Fund-of-Funds for SMEs in Romania?

Depending on the type of Financial Instrument, eligible applicants are:

Financial institutions duly authorised to carry out lending activities to final recipients according to applicable legislation, established and operating in Romania
Equity management teams with a track-record of investments and entrepreneurship support into Romanian SMEs.

*for complete eligibility criteria refer to each call document

You are an equity management team: how to apply for an investment contribution by the Competitiveness Fund-of-Funds for SMEs in Romania:

If you are eligible, you can apply by downloading all the application documents published here below by 20 February 2017.

Call for expression of interest to select financial intermediaries for the Entrepreneurship Accelerator and Seed Fund C-FOF-RO 2016/01 .doc|.pdf
Clarification document for the CEOI C-FOF-RO 2016/01

If you are a financial institution providing SME loans: how to apply for resources under the Competitiveness Fund-of-Funds for SMEs in Romania:

If you are eligible, you can apply by downloading all the application documents published here below by 31 December 2017.

Call for expression of interest to select financial intermediaries for the Portfolio Risk Sharing Loan instrument C-FOF-RO 2016/02 .doc|.pdf
Information notice to financial intermediaries (published on 16 June 2017)

EIF selects financial intermediaries according to a standard process involving due diligence and proof of compliance with relevant standards and legislation, as described in each call for expression of interest.

For further questions, please direct your inquiries to info.cfofro@eif.org.

HIGHLIGHTS

EIF and the Romanian Ministry of European Funds launch EUR 59.3m Competitiveness Fund-of-Funds for SMEs

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