How EFSI benefits SMEs in Europe - KfW case study: Reha Weyhe (Germany), medical practice

When starting your career, isn’t it everybody’s dream to be self-employed and dedicate yourself to helping your own company grow and be successful? This is the challenge that Jasmin Holzapfel, aged 24, took up in 2016, when she decided to become a partner of Reha Weyhe GbR, a German practice of nine physiotherapists that employs over 50 staff members and is specialised in health management.

Jasmin completed her studies in physiotherapy in 2013. Right after her studies, she pursued her professional training in the very same practice that she now partly owns: “Very early on, I became interested in the organisational side of the company. I tried to learn as much as possible about the company’s organisation while I was still in training, as I already had in mind to eventually become a partner.”

After her training, Jasmin’s hard work paid off, as she was offered a position in the practice as a physiotherapist and partner. Jasmin had no doubts: “The offer was very attractive. I saw it as a real opportunity. It was a medium-sized company, with a lot of growth potential, as the practice already had four locations including a new one that opened in 2016.”

To be able to afford the buy-in into the company, Jasmin approached the company’s local bank, part of the German KfW Banking Group’s network of lending banks, to ask for a loan. To her surprise, “it was relatively easy and quite fast.” This loan, which was made possible by the joint backing of EIF and the Investment Plan for Europe, the EU initiative aiming at generating new investments in Europe through the support of small and medium-sized enterprises, was offered to Jasmin on favourable terms and made it possible for her to afford the buy-in into the practice.

Today, besides taking care of her patients, Jasmin deals mostly with the human resources management of the company’s numerous employees: “I dedicate probably a quarter of my time to this and it has been a rewarding challenge so far.”

Company:  Reha Weyhe GbR (Germany)

Type of business: Medical practice

EIF financing: COSME LGF, EFSI

Financial intermediary: KfW Bankengruppe

For further information about EIF intermediaries in Germany, please refer to: http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/where/de