InvestEU: EIF and seQura join forces to mobilise €62.5 million in loans for European students

• seQura will receive a limited guarantee from the EIF to expand the range of financing solutions for European students.
• With EIF backing, it is estimated that seQura will be able to offer its financing solutions to 31 000 students via digital platforms of universities and educational institutions.
• This operation is backed by the European Union’s InvestEU programme to mobilise public and private sector funds in support of EU policy goals.
• The guarantee contributes to the EIB Group’s strategic priority to step up support for social infrastructure, including for education, healthcare, and affordable housing.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is providing a limited guarantee to seQura to mobilise up to €62.5 million in financing solutions for students in Europe. seQura is a provider of financing technology solutions that, thanks to the EIF guarantee, will be able to expand its loan offering to university and professional schools’ students.

These loans will be accessible via the digital platforms of educational institutions offering seQura's payment solutions. It is expected that the loans will benefit 31 000 additional students beyond those currently financing their studies with the company. In this way, EIF and seQura will contribute to the dual objective of supporting access to financing solutions for educational programmes and promoting innovation and digitalisation.

EIF Chief Executive Officer Marjut Falkstedt, said, “This guarantee is yet another example of how the EIF provides financing solutions that have a real impact on people’s lives. Using InvestEU resources, this operation offers digital access to finance for students, impacting their futures and contributing to a skilled workforce in Europe”.

The EIF guarantee for seQura has been made possible with backing from the European Union’s InvestEU programme to mobilise public and private sector funds in support of EU policy goals. In concrete terms, the operation falls under InvestEU’s skills and education strategy category.

seQura Chief Growth Officer Joaquim Ferrer, added, “We have helped hundreds of students to meet their career goals under our eduQa sub-brand. Now, this EIF guarantee will enable seQura to expand its contribution to ensuring that the workforce of the future is better prepared and has greater skill levels. seQura’s commitment to building high quality educational opportunities for all, regardless of socioeconomic or cultural background, promotes innovation, competitiveness, and social progress across Europe, laying the foundation for a more skilled and promising future.”

This operation will not only benefit individuals, but will also boost innovation and growth throughout Europe, fostering an environment of sustainable progress and development.

Background information

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group). Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (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.

The EIB Group, consisting of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), reported total financing signatures in Spain of €11.4 billion in 2023, approximately €6.8 billion of which went to climate action and environmental sustainability projects. Globally, the EIB Group signed €88 billion of new financing in 2023.

About InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investment for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the Member States, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient, and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners who will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

About seQura

Headquartered in Barcelona, seQura is a fintech scale-up operating as a technology and consumer loan provider in Spain and as a technology provider in southern Europe and Latin America. It has a compound annual rate of over 50%, bringing it very close to annual recurring income of €100 million. It has more than 5 000 affiliate businesses, almost 2 million buyers and over 300 employees, placing it among the most liked and trusted fintechs, with a Net Promoter Score of 87%, a Trustpilot score of 4.7/5 and a Glassdoor rating of 4.7/5.

Press contacts:

EIF:

Maite Cordero | m.corderomunoz@eib.org, tel.: +34 606 66 82 62

Website: www.eif.org – X: @eif_eu

seQura:

Adrián Escudé | adrian.escude@sequra.es