Provides risk financing for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is a specialist provider of risk financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Europe. Established in 1994, it is part of the European Investment Bank Group and is majority-owned by the European Investment Bank, with the European Union and financial institutions as minority shareholders. The EIF focuses on supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation through various financial instruments including venture capital, private equity, guarantees, and microfinance. Its key areas include technology transfer, business angel financing, early-stage VC, growth capital, and credit enhancement. The EIF typically commits between €10 million to €60 million per fund investment, representing 10-20% of a fund's size. For guarantees, amounts can range from €5 million to over €100 million. Eligibility criteria include alignment with EU policy objectives, fund manager experience, and investment strategy viability. Recent initiatives include the €3.75 billion European Tech Champions Initiative to support late-stage growth capital, and increased focus on climate action and sustainability investments. The EIF also manages programs like InvestEU, which aims to mobilize €145 billion in investments by 2027. The EIF does not directly finance companies but works through financial intermediaries across Europe to improve SMEs' access to finance and foster EU economic development objectives.