Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: “The credit agreement signed today is open to all SMEs and medium market capitalization in the EU Member States, but also in the countries participating in the program Horizon 2020 in Southeast Europe. The agreement aims to encourage investment in innovative companies in order to achieve growth and employment.”

European Investment Fund and EU, in the framework of InnovFin guarantees for SMEs, guarantee up to 50 percent of the credit amount intended for activities in the field of innovation. This is part of a new generation financial instruments developed under the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (IP / 14/670).

Context

Instrument InnovFin provides guarantees and counter-guarantees for debt financing in the range of 25,000 to 7.5 million Euros in order to improve access to credit financing for innovative SMEs and midcaps (up to 499 employees). Instrument is managed by the EIF while credits are provided by financial intermediaries – banks and other financial institutions – both in the Member States and associated countries. In the framework of this instrument, EIF provides guarantee for financial intermediaries in the amount of losses incurred due to debt financing covered by this instrument.

InnovFin guarantees for SMEs is part of the “EU Funding for innovators,” the new generation of financial instruments and advise services that EU have been developed in the framework of Horizon 2020 with the aim to provide innovative companies better access to financing. In this way so far, in research and innovation across Europe have invested up to 48 billion Euros.

About Horizon 2020

The European Union on 1 January 2014, launched a new program to fund research and innovation called Horizon 2020. In the period of seven years, in projects of innovation and research will be invested almost 80 billion Euros, which will support the competitiveness of the European economy and expand the boundaries of human knowledge. The EU budget for research is focused mainly on improving everyday life in areas such as health, environment, transport, food and energy. Research partnerships with the pharmaceutical, aerospace, automotive and electronic industries will encourage the combination of private and public investment, all in order to support further growth and employment of highly qualified labor force.