EIF supports first social fund under the Social Impact Accelerator Initiative

Read the press release by Social Venture Fund (in German)

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has invested EUR 8 million into Social Venture Fund (SVF), a German Venture Capital fund which targets social enterprises and held its first closing at EUR 16.4 million today. This investment is the first one under the Social Impact Accelerator (SIA) initiative which the EIF has launched earlier in 2013.

SIA is the first pan-European public-private partnership for social impact investing and addresses the growing need for availability of equity finance to support social enterprises, a segment of the business world which is becoming increasingly instrumental in promoting social inclusion, providing alternative sources of employment for marginalised social groups and contributing to growth.

Commenting on the first investment under SIA, Ulrich Grabenwarter, Head of Strategic Development Equity at EIF said “This investment opens EIF’s activities to a new field in support of social entrepreneurship. In the light of the global economic crisis, the need for innovative ways to tackle societal challenges cannot be stressed enough. We are pleased to back in our first investment one of the most professional social venture teams in Europe.”

Johannes Weber, Founder and Managing Director of SVF added: “This first closing of EUR 16.4 million is a great success for us. It is also an important endorsement of the work we have achieved so far with these exciting social enterprises that we were able to support over the last few years”.

Johannes Weber and his team are aiming for a final closing of the fund in the next few months

About the Social Impact Accelerator
The Social Impact Accelerator (SIA) is the first pan-European public-private partnership supporting social enterprises. Launched in May 2013 with the collaboration of private sector investors, SIA is a pilot initiative which aims to address the growing need for availability of equity finance to support social enterprises. This segment of the business world is becoming increasingly instrumental in promoting social inclusion, providing alternative sources of employment for marginalised social groups, and contributing to growth.   
SIA is a first step in the EIB Group’s (European Investment Bank and EIF) strategy to pioneer the impact investing space and respond to the wider EU policy aim of establishing a sustainable funding market for social entrepreneurship in Europe.
 

About EIF
The European Investment Fund's (EIF) 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. EIF’s total net commitments to private equity funds amounted to over EUR 6.9bn at end 2012. With investments in over 435 funds, EIF is a leading player in European venture due to the scale and the scope of its investments, especially in high-tech and early-stage segments. EIF’s guarantees loan portfolio totalled over EUR 4.7bn in close to 255 operations at end 2012, positioning it as a major European SME guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor. www.eif.org