On 13 May, Bpifrance and the European Investment Fund (EIF), a subsidiary of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, signed a 4th financial guarantee agreement between the two institutions: the EIF will guarantee 50% of the new loans granted by Bpifrance to innovative companies and start-ups, i.e. €300mn for a total amount of loans of up to €600mn.
This fund is part of the Juncker Plan to improve European investment and therefore create employment and growth. The EIF will provide:
- €200mn to fund SME innovation in order to assist companies having just finalised a research and development project or to finance their intangible expenditure arising from the industrial and commercial launch of their innovations;
- €100mn to fund the launch of start-up companies with a view to supporting them in preparing for and raising funds, or to improve their treasury.
These loans provided by the EIF are in line with the financing tools offered by Bpifrance to start-up companies and SMEs during the earlier stages of their development (notably, innovation aid or repayable advances).
This is the 4th guarantee facility agreed between the EIF and Bpifrance since 2015. During the first three facilities, the EIF provided €1.4bn in loans. Through this latest facility, the EIF will have committed to covering a total of 50% of €2bn in loans granted by Bpifrance.