The Chief Executive of the EIF, Mr. Richard Pelly, today met with the Slovak Minister of Economy, Mr Juraj Miškov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr Ivan Mikloš and State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports Mr Jaroslav Ivančo, to strengthen their commitment to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Slovakia with an expected EUR 300m of JEREMIE stimulated financing.

The funding will be made available through JEREMIE (the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises initiative), a joint initiative of the European Commission and the EIF, aiming to facilitate access to finance for SMEs across the EU by providing attractive financing conditions or by boosting the supply of investment capital.

JEREMIE finance will be made available to SMEs via financial intermediaries, selected by the EIF following a robust selection process. In order to select the financial intermediaries, the EIF launches an open application process, the so-called ’Call for Expression of Interest’. Financial intermediaries then apply, in response to this Call for Expression of Interest, and the EIF carries out an analysis of potential applicants before selecting suitable financial intermediaries who will in turn provide finance to SMEs, under the terms of the contracts entered into by EIF on behalf of Slovenský záručný a rozvojový fond, s.r.o. (“SZRF”).

Richard Pelly said: “We are pleased to be supporting Slovak businesses at this critical time for entrepreneurs and we would like to encourage financial institutions to apply to these Calls for Expression of Interest”.

The EIF is responding to the diverse financing needs of the Slovak market by initially launching two different Calls for Expression of Interest (CEI) in the coming weeks: a EUR 33m guarantee allocation, likely to create a total SME loan portfolio of EUR 200m+ and a second CEI for EUR 31m targeting risk capital funds with an emphasis on investing in early-stage technology-driven companies. A third CEI is planned for this summer. All CEIs will be published on the EIF’s website.

Minister of Economy, Juraj Miškov said: "Risk capital financing in Slovakia represents a less used way of investing into enterprises development. The Slovak risk capital market is however interesting for investors thanks to the tax reform implemented, due to the increasing demand of SMEs for investments and also because of the improving business environment and support from the State. Slovak risk capital constitutes a perspective and attractive market with the strong potential for further development."

About the EIF

EIF's central mission is to support Europe's small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF primarily designs and develops venture capital and guarantees instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. The EIF total net commitments to venture capital and private equity funds amounted to over EUR 5.4bn at end 2010. With investments in over 300 funds, the EIF is the leading player in European venture capital due to the scale and the scope of its investments, especially in the high-tech and early-stage segments. The EIF commitment in guarantees totalled over EUR 14.7bn in close to 160 operations at end 2010, positioning it as a major European SME loan guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor.

About SZRF

Slovenský záručný a rozvojový fond, s.r.o. was set up within the Framework of the JEREMIE initiative in Slovakia to be a local state-owned entity through which EIF will contract financial intermediaries, with the aim of building SZRF up to continue the activities in support of SME financing in the longer-term, ensuring sustainable support. SZRB and EIF are the shareholders, with EIF’s participation being held on behalf of the Slovak government until its exit at the end of 2015.

About JEREMIE

JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises) is a joint initiative launched by the European Commission (DG Regional Policy) and the European Investment Bank Group to improve access to finance for SMEs in the EU within the Structural Funds framework for the period 2007-2013. JEREMIE enables the EU Member States and Regions to put money from the structural funds and also national resources into holding funds that can finance SMEs in a flexible and innovative way. The initiative aims at developing and fostering the role of entrepreneurship within the EU in order to help structural funds to deliver greater benefits to the market.

To date, the EIF has signed 8 National and 3 Regional Holding Fund agreements.

In Slovakia, the JEREMIE Holding Fund is financed from the EU Structural Funds under three 2007-2013 Operational Programmes (Operational Programme Competitiveness and Economic Growth, Operational Programme Research and Development, Operational Programme Bratislava Region) and is managed by the EIF through SZRF s.r.o.

Press contacts:

David Yormesor, EIF Communications Unit, tel +352 426 688 346, e-mail d.yormesor@eif.org
Marek Hajduk, e-mail: hajduk@mhsr.sk, or visit the website of the Slovak Ministry of Economy www.mhsr.sk.