Competitiveness & Growth

Economic aftershocks from the recent pandemic were felt across Europe during the first half of 2023, while the ongoing geo-political situation, inflation and energy prices have continued to put pressure on small businesses across the continent. But we made every effort, alongside the European Commission, the EIB Group and our partners on the ground, to foster growth and competitiveness, ensuring that European small and medium-sized businesses—the backbone of our economy—had better access to finance to help them grow, compete and scale within their respective industries.

We have pursued this goal making full use of all the tools in our financial toolkit: portfolio guarantees, equity investments and securitisation, and working through a range of different types of partners, ranging from banks and funds to private credit institutions and crowdlending platforms amongst others.

In parallel, we have set up new mandates with various Member States like Romania, Bulgaria and Malta, to secure a steady flow of financial support for local businesses and promote economic convergence, cohesion and equal opportunities for businesses across Europe.