InvestEU Portfolio Guarantee Products
The EIF has over 25 years experience in addressing SME financing gaps via debt financing – and has made over €77bn in guarantee commitments - as well as over €1bn in inclusive finance commitments - to date.
As an InvestEU Implementing Partner, we are charged with deploying a further €10bn of this debt financing to the market, across six core products.
Select one of the Guarantees below to start looking into product and portfolio details, or click on our comparison view to visualise this information side by side.
InvestEU Guarantee Products
The EIF has over 25 years experience in addressing SME financing gaps via debt financing – and has made over €77bn in guarantee commitments - as well as over €1bn in inclusive finance commitments - to date. As an InvestEU Implementing Partner, we are charged with deploying a further €10bn of this debt financing to the market, across six core products.
Select one of the Guarantees below to start looking into product and portfolio details, or click on our comparison view to visualise this information side by side.
SME Competitiveness Portfolio Guarantee Product
Supporting the competitiveness of European businesses is key to fostering a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem. SMEs that are perceived as high risk lack sufficient financing options, even when they may have strong potential.
The purpose of the SME Competitiveness Portfolio Guarantee Product - the successor of COSME LGF - is to facilitate access to - and availability of - finance for precisely those SMEs that are high risk or lack sufficient collateral.
Eligible Final Recipients
The product is targeted at enhancing access to debt financing to SMEs, where such debt financing falls into one of the following high risk categories
Higher Risk Category 1 for those SMEs which typically are excluded from the Financial Intermediary's financial offerings
Higher Risk Category 2 for the most risky Debt Financing in the Financial (Sub-) Intermediary’s SME loan book, and
Higher Risk Category 3 dedicated to solvency support (addressed to financial recipient transactions exclusively in the form of subordinated loans)
The Guarantee terms
The Guarantee product is offered to Financial Intermediaries with the following range of features:

For a complete list of all terms, conditions and criteria, please refer to the product term sheets within the Call for Expression of Interest documentation available on our website.
Don't forget to check out our InvestEU How to Apply section for more information on how this whole process works.
Sustainability Portfolio Guarantee Product
The European Union has set targets to progressively reduce (GHG) emissions to become a carbon-neutral and carbon resilient society by 2050.
The Invest EU Sustainability Portfolio Guarantee Product furthers this goal by enhancing access to debt finance for SMEs, Small Mid Caps, natural persons and housing associations whose investments contribute to the green and sustainable transformation of the European economy.
Eligible Final Recipients
This climate-focused intermediated debt financing shall be made available to small businesses, private individuals as well as housing associations - thereby granting these access to preferential conditions when seeking finance for their sustainable businesses, business models or investments.
Eligibility spans both sustainable enterprises as well as green investments and accessibility investments, therefore allowing the Guarantee to have a far reaching impact to foster sustainable transformation across the EU.
The Guarantee terms
The Guarantee product is offered to Financial Intermediaries with the following range of features:

For a complete list of all terms, conditions and criteria, please refer to the product term sheets within the Call for Expression of Interest documentation available on our website. Don't forget to check out our InvestEU How to Apply section for more information on how this whole process works.
Innovation & Digitalisation Portfolio Guarantee Product
Investment into research and innovation is a crucial driver of productivity and economic growth - and is essential to maintaining the EU's global competitiveness. Yet, a persistent investment gap remains in both the spheres of innovation as well as digitalisation.
The Innovation & Digitalisation Guarantee aims to improve Europe's adoption of innovation and digital technologies to strengthen the employment landscape, productivity and prosperity of Europe.
Eligible Final Recipients
The product is targeted at innovation and digitalisation-driven SMEs and Small Mid-Caps and aims to enhance access to finance for R&I intensive companies as well as to support the uptake of digital technologies and digital transformation of enterprises.
There will be an additional focus on supporting investments to enhance the transfer of technologies and research results to the market - thereby enabling cooperation between enterprises, the demonstration and deployment of innovative solutions and support for the scaling up of innovative companies.
The Guarantee terms
The Guarantee product is offered to Financial Intermediaries with the following range of features:

For a complete list of all terms, conditions and criteria, please refer to the product term sheets within the Call for Expression of Interest documentation available on our website. Don't forget to check out our InvestEU How to Apply section for more information on how this whole process works.
Cultural & Creative Sectors Portfolio Guarantee Product
The Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS) span all companies whose activities are based on cultural values and/or artistic and other creative expressions. Their contribution is not only key for society -as they help preserve the cultural identity and diversity - but also key for the European economy. In fact, they account for over 4% of GDP, 10% share in total companies in services and also provide for approximately 7 million jobs. Despite their important role, CCS companies face difficulties to access finance, mainly due to the perceived complexity of their business models, associated risks and intangible nature of their assets.
The Cultural and Creative Sectors Portfolio Guarantee Product aims to therefore enhance access to finance to SMEs and other eligible enterprises operating in the CCS, therefore supporting this creative ecosystem, consolidating its resilience and allowing it to adapt to the challenges ahead.
Eligible Final Recipients
The product is targeted at financing SMEs, Small Mid-Caps and Small Public Enterprises. In order to meet the required eligibility, such Final Recipients will need to meet at least one of the Product Eligibility Criteria, including falling within the definition of "CCS Project" where applicable.
The Guarantee terms
The Guarantee product is offered to Financial Intermediaries with the following range of features:

For a complete list of all terms, conditions and criteria, please refer to the product term sheets within the Call for Expression of Interest documentation available on our website. Don't forget to check out our InvestEU How to Apply section for more information on how this whole process works.
Microfinance & Social Entrepreneurship Portfolio Guarantee Product
Micro-enterprises and social enterprises promote quality, sustainable employment and social inclusion by supporting entrepreneurship and job creation, in particular, for persons in vulnerable situations. Yet both continue to face difficulties in accessing finance due to the perceived high risk. Enhancing access to finance for microenterprises and social enterprises is fundamental to fostering a caring and inclusive European social ecosystem.
The InvestEU Microfinance & Social Entrepreneurship Guarantee aims to bolster this developing market and boost the financing options of micro-borrowers & micro-enterprises, as well as social enterprises.
Eligible Final Recipients
The financing shall be made available to the following two categories:
1. Micro-Enterprises including self employed (Microfinance)
Micro-borrowers and micro-enterprises continue to face difficulties in accessing finance to start up and scale up often due to a lack of collateral and credit history, thus they are perceived as high risk by traditional banking channels. The InvestEU Guarantee product therefore aims to promote quality, sustainable employment and social inclusion by supporting entrepreneurship and income-generating activities, in particular for persons in vulnerable situations who wish to start up or develop a micro-enterprise, including on a self-employed basis.
2. Social Enterprises (Social Entrepreneurship)
Social enterprises play an increasingly important role in the European economy and recovery in terms of promoting active labour market participation, creating jobs and building a fairer and more inclusive Union, in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights. The InvestEU Guarantee product is tailored to target these enterprises, as they have novel business models with the social mission as a priority, which can entail difficulties in accessing finance to start up and scale up their businesses as financial intermediaries may perceive them as riskier than traditional SMEs.
The Guarantee terms
The Guarantee product is offered to Financial Intermediaries with the following range of features:

For a complete list of all terms, conditions and criteria, please refer to the product term sheets within the Call for Expression of Interest documentation available on our website. Don't forget to check out our InvestEU How to Apply section for more information on how this whole process works.
Skills & Education Portfolio Guarantee Product
Skills, education and training are drivers of growth, competitiveness and social convergence. Insufficient financial resources are a major barrier to accessing education and training and leads to unequal opportunities for education and access to the labour market.
For young people, access to education in many EU countries relies too heavily on parental social background and financial standing. For SMEs, investment in the up-skilling or re-skilling of their employees is often constrained due to barriers preventing access to the finance required.
Moreover, a massive investment is needed to better respond to the economy’s changing needs for skills. In particular, the shift towards a climate neutral Europe and digital transformation requires new digital and “green” skills to be developed. Education providers and providers of services ancillary to education need financial support to adjust and keep up with the demand for skills transformation.
Eligible Final Recipients
The financing shall be made available to Final Recipients which/who meet a series of eligibility criteria applicable to each of the four targeted categories: students & learners, entities investing in skilling their workforce, education providers and entities supplying services ancillary to education.
The Guarantee terms
The Guarantee product is offered to Financial Intermediaries with the following range of features:

For a complete list of all terms, conditions and criteria, please refer to the product term sheets within the Call for Expression of Interest documentation available on our website. Don't forget to check out our InvestEU How to Apply section for more information on how this whole process works.
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