The InnovFin Programme is intended for financing innovative projects. ProCredit group signed the agreement with EIF in order to provide our clients with opportunity to access the funds backed by EU.
European Investment Fund (EIF) and ProCredit group signed an agreement that will increase lending to innovative SMEs and MidCaps through the InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators, within initiatives that are supported by the European Commission. The programme is supported by the InnovFin SME Guarantee Facility, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments.
This agreement allows the ProCredit group to finance innovative enterprises with EUR 820 million through ProCredit Banks in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania and Serbia. The advantage to these banks is the opportunity to utilise guarantees, secured by the EIF and supported by Horizon 2020 – the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. This is the first comprehensive InnovFin SMEs guarantee signature covering these countries and enabling the mentioned ProCredit banks to offer innovative enterprises additional lending by reducing their collateral requirements, without transferring the cost of increased risk on to the client.
What is InnovFin and who is eligible to apply for?
- InnovFin represents part of a joint initiative between the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the European Union
- The initiative is designed to facilitate the access to the funds for innovative projects
- It focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises as well as on small enterprises with medium market capitalization of up to 500 employees
- The InnovFin Programme is firstly focused on enterprises that are orientated towards development and innovative activities, companies that invest in new technologies and energy efficiency and companies which follow market trends for the purpose of business operations improvement
- Innovation is understood as any investment which is new for the company and which contributes to its modernisation. This investment should also comply with the predefined criteria of the EIF.
What does the InnovFin Fund mean to our clients?
- The InnovFin Programme is very stimulating towards our clients as it encourages innovation and providing them with the opportunity to increase competitiveness
- Reduced collateral requirements
- Better interest rates in comparison to standard loans
The criteria that clients have to fulfil in order to apply for the InnovFin Guarantee Fund are as following:
- Financing innovative projects
- The minimum loan amount is EUR 25.000 and the maximum individual amount per client is EUR 7.5 million
- The loans may be investment loans, revolving or working capital
- The minimum maturity is 12 months, and the maximum maturity is 10 years
For more detailed information regarding the InnovFin Programme, please contact your Business Advisor or +387 33 250 950.