EIB Group and Commission boost support for innovative firms

The European Investment Bank Group (EIB) and the European Commission have launched three new financial products to help increase the competitiveness of innovative companies in Europe.

The announcement was made on Monday during the First Innovative Enterprise Week, taking place in the Latvian capital Riga. The EIB and the Commission have also expanded the ‘InnovFin Advisory’ mandate, which will allow innovative projects and companies in more sectors to benefit from the EIB’s financial and technical expertise.

As part of InnovFin, ‘InnovFin Energy Demo Projects’ will support first-of-a-kind industrial demonstration projects in the fields of renewable energy and hydrogen and fuel cells, whereas ‘InnovFin Infectious Diseases’ will ensure that new drugs, vaccines and medical and diagnostic devices are made available faster to people who need them. These financial products allow projects with a higher risk factor to receive loans; €100m has been allocated initially to each product to kick-start the initiatives.

The third innovative financial product, launched by the European Investment Fund (EIF), is the ‘InnovFin SME Venture Capital Facility’, which focuses on venture capital funds that target start-ups, which often find it particularly challenging to obtain financing. The €430m allocation to early-stage funding will target enterprises located in EU member states and Horizon 2020 associated countries. The EIF expects to invest in around 30 funds, helping to generate a total of investments in start-ups of up to €1.6bn.

Commenting on the signing of the deal, EIB vice-president for innovation, Ambroise Fayolle, said: “It’s a great pleasure to sign the Amendments to the Delegation and Advisory Agreements of Horizon 2020 on the occasion of the First Innovative Enterprise Week. With this, we present three new InnovFin products for research, innovation and SMEs as well as expanding the scope of the advisory work programme. Giving these very important sectors easier access to finance and advisory services, especially with higher-risk projects, is crucial to bridge the investment gap in Europe and stay at the forefront of global competitiveness.”

By signing the amendments, both parties have also expanded the reach of the InnovFin Advisory mandate, allowing the bioeconomy, circular economy and Key Enabling Technologies to benefit from the EIB’s advisory expertise and contribute to more innovation financing in coming years.

Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation said: “Through Horizon 2020, we’re tackling some of the biggest challenges to 21st Century society by increasing investment in research. The two InnovFin financial products launched today will help us do exactly that in the increasingly important areas of health and energy.”