Dutch Alternative Credit Instrument launched with European backing

• Dutch National Promotional Bank Invest-NL and the Ministry of Economic Affairs launch the Dutch Alternative Credit Instrument (DACI) in cooperation with the European Investment Fund.
• With €200 million of capital available at launch, DACI will provide funding to non-bank credit providers, which will provide additional financing to SMEs in the Netherlands.
• DACI will invest in funds which provide financing to SMEs with loan ticket sizes mainly below € 2 million. In total about 250 Dutch SMEs are expected to receive financing through DACI.

Dutch SMEs can look forward to fresh financing coming from a European-backed initiative of the Dutch national promotional bank Invest-NL and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Together with the European Investment Fund (EIF), the parties have launched the “Dutch Alternative Credit Instrument” (DACI) aimed at providing funding to non-bank credit providers, who will provide financing to SMEs.

Invest-NL and the Ministry will each commit €50 million, while the EIF puts up €100 million, ensuring that Dutch SMEs can benefit from €200 million in financing through the instrument. After the launch of the Dutch Future Fund (DFF) last year, this is a complementary joint fund-of-funds initiative, which aims at improving access to finance for Dutch SMEs.

Mona Keijzer, the Dutch Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and Climate, stated: “DACI connects two parties – growing companies and alternative financiers – who need each other if they are to move forward. Alternative financiers want to invest in growing companies, but they have trouble raising enough funds. And then there are the vibrant companies that are keen to expand their operations, but lack the money to do so. DACI can help fund managers obtain sufficient resources, and this enables Dutch companies to grow.”

“Invest-NL is a strategic partner and shareholder of the EIF” says Alain Godard, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund. “DACI is our first regional partnership in the EU targeting support to alternative credit providers. Although several new alternative credit providers or platforms have emerged in recent years, it remains a fragile segment in the financing chain for SMEs. DACI therefore constitutes an ideal opportunity in a space that is ripe for further expansion and growth.”

“The new DACI fund will provide much needed support and further grow and strengthen the non-bank financial sector. By extending funding possibilities to Alternative Credit providers, more companies can be reached and more flexible financing solutions can be developed to tailor to the needs of small companies” added Invest-NL CEO Wouter Bos, “We look forward to taking the next steps together with our partners and making DACI a truly supportive instrument for Dutch SMEs and enabling financing for their businesses.

DACI will provide financing support to SMEs with loans up to an absolute maximum of €5 million. With about 95% of all loans having a size below €2 million, the parties expect that around 250 Dutch companies will benefit from the initiative.

Background information:

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment.

Invest-NL is the Netherland's main National Promotional Institution (NPI). As an impact investor, Invest-NL is committed to businesses and projects that will make The Netherlands more sustainable and innovative, with a focus on the energy transition and innovative, fast-growing companies, or scale-ups. Invest-NL supports innovative entrepreneurs through financing and advice according to one simple principle: impact is our goal, return is our means. Invest-NL is a private organisation funded by the Dutch government with a capital base of €1.7 billion. For more information, visit https://www.invest-nl.nl

After the successful implementation of the two Dutch Venture Initiative programmes (DVI and DVI-II), EAF Netherlands, the Dutch Groth Co-Investment Programme and the Dutch Future Fund (DFF) this will be the sixth dedicated EIFprogramme for the Netherlands.

Press Contacts:
EIB Group:                             Tim Smit, Tel: +352 691 28 64 23, t.smit@eib.org, Follow us on Twitter

Ministerie van EZK:               Hart, T.A. (Thomas), +31 6 257 20 660 t.a.hart@minezk.nl