Country and sector-specific initiatives

We provide targeted financial solutions to assist EU and Accession countries to develop their risk capital markets and to foster the regional SMEs lending sector. We aim to identify and address market failures and are committed to providing support to SMEs in less developed regions across the EU. Striving to respond to the particular needs of specific regions in Europe, the EIF is involved in a number of initiatives to promote regional business development and to use its expertise and experience to create market impact through local implementation of financial instruments.

EIF has been promoting regional development and EU cohesion policy through:

• JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises)

• Country and sector-specific initiatives

Going forward, EIF intends to expand its regional development activity capitalising on the experience acquired through its involvement in the management of financial engineered instruments co-financed by Structural Funds and fund-of-funds managers and through strategic partnerships established during the programming period 2007-2013. EIF will also intensify partnerships with national promotional institutions to collectively develop and deliver effective financing solutions for European SMEs.

Currently, under the programming period 2014-2020, EIF is managing the SME initiative blending European Structural & Financial Instruments (ESIF) resources and the centralised EU guarantee budget to support lending to SMEs.