EaSI Capacity Building Investments Window

The EaSI Capacity Building Investments Window is funded by the Employment and Social Innovation Programme. The objective of this instrument is to build up the institutional capacity of selected financial intermediaries that have not yet reached sustainability or are in need of risk capital to sustain their growth and development. An amount of approx. €40m has been committed within the EaSI Programme for this initiative.

EIF does not provide any type of finance to micro-entrepreneurs or social enterprises directly. Through this window, EIF will invest in financial intermediaries operating in the microfinance and social entrepreneurship space, which are selected after an application submitted under a call for expression of interest followed by a due diligence process. Once selected by the EIF, these partners act as EaSI financial intermediaries.

Which kind of investments can be financed by the EaSI Capacity Building Investments Window?

Through the EaSI Capacity Building Investments Window EIF will help build up the market primarily via investments that can be used, for instance, for:

• Supporting organisational development and expansion, including branch expansion, scaling up or developing IT infrastructure (e.g. mobile banking), or investments in human resources such as recruitment and training of staff;
• Strengthening operational and institutional capabilities, including, but not limited to, investments in working capital and in improving the strategic/governance capabilities of the financial intermediary in order to maintain a balanced business, financial sustainability and social performance focus;
• Seed financing support of newly created intermediaries with a strong social focus.

Who is eligible to become EIF’s financial intermediary under the EaSI Capacity Building Investments Window?

• Entities such as banks, non-bank financial institutions/organisations, established on a national, regional or local level in one or several EaSI participating countries, operating in the microfinance or social enterprise finance market,  including greenfield financial intermediaries in need of seed financing/risk capital;
• Funds/vehicles investing in those intermediaries.

At the date of publication of the call for expression of interest, the countries covered by the EaSI Programme comprise EU Member States, Albania, FYROM, Iceland, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, and may include other associated countries having entered into relevant agreements with the European Union. Additional eligible EFTA, Candidate and Potential Candidate countries may be added to the participating countries.