FOSTER TPE-PME Occitanie

FOSTER Occitanie II (Fonds Occitanie de Soutien Territorial aux Entreprises Régionales) is a third generation holding fund seeking to improve access to finance for final recipients, set up in cooperation with the French Region of Occitanie.

For further info regarding FOSTER Occitanie, click here.

FOSTER Occitanie II is managed by EIF under the current EU funds programming period 2021-2027. It builds-on the successful implementation of the JEREMIE Initiative in Languedoc-Roussillon as well as on the first Generation of FOSTER Occitanie. Altogether these initiatives leveraged about EUR 220m of public resources (EU funds and Regional own resources) resulting in over EUR 1.3bn of financing provided for final recipients for over EUR 2bn of catalyzed investments. Through this landmark initiative, more than 8,500 SMEs and farmers operating in the region benefitted from loans or equity support while almost 60,000 jobs were created/maintained. 

EIF is currently seeking to implement financial instruments under FOSTER Occitanie II in the Region of Occitanie.  

FOSTER Occitanie II is made up of two holding funds:

• FOSTER II ERDF: an initiative targeting SME financing needs with a focus on impactful areas (such as economic sovereignty, markets of the future, internationalization, industrial transition, digital transformation, territorial balance, ecological transformation, social economy / micro-entrepreneurship) which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF);
• FOSTER II EAFRD: an initiative targeting the financing needs of farmers and enterprises active in the agricultural, agro-industry, and forestry value chains, which is co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

Financial instruments available through FOSTER Occitanie II

FOSTER II (ERDF) makes available (i) a free of charge first loss portfolio guarantee and (ii) a portfolio risk-sharing loan focusing on early-stage innovation, each supporting new debt financing for SMEs.

FOSTER II (EAFRD) makes available a free of charge first loss portfolio guarantee supporting new debt financing to farmers and enterprises active in the agricultural, agro-industry, and forestry value chains.

Who is eligible* to become financial intermediary under FOSTER Occitanie II?

Eligible applicants are Financial institutions duly authorized, according to applicable legislation, to carry out lending or leasing activities to final recipients established and/or operating in Occitanie.

*for the complete set of eligibility and other criteria, please refer to each call document

The DEADLINE for the FOSTER Occitanie II Call for Expression of Interest is 15/06/2023

How to apply to FOSTER Occitanie II?

For each of the financial instruments available, the documents to be downloaded below contain details of the application process, the required contents of the Expressions of Interest, and the indicative terms and conditions of the relevant financial instrument.

For more information about the eligibility and exclusion criteria please refer to the relevant Call for Expression of Interest below.

*For each call, please also download the related Excel template for the data to be provided. You will find the link in the PDF document.

EAFRD/FOSTER support in France: testimonials