European Investment Fund (EIF) is Europe's leading developer of risk financing with a central mission to support small and medium-sized enterprises by enhancing their access to finance.
EIF is Europe's leading developer of risk financing for entrepreneurship and innovation. Its central mission is to support Europe's SMEs by helping them to access finance. EIF's core business is conducted through equity investments in venture and growth capital funds and as a guarantee provider to intermediaries in SME financing. Working in partnership with public and private institutions, EIF designs and develops market instruments targeting the SME segment. EIF operates on market terms to ensure an appropriate financial return for its shareholders. EIF has a crucial role to play throughout the value chain of enterprise creation, from the earliest stages of intellectual property development to mid and later stages. In its role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, regional development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment.
EIF, together with the European Investment Bank and the European Commission has set up the Progress Microfinance Facility which aims to increase access to finance for individuals who have lost or are at risk of losing their job or have difficulties entering of re-entering the labour market. It is also aimed at disadvantaged individuals, including people at risk of social exclusion.
The identification of social value-added is important for EIF because of its purpose to contribute to the objectives of its stakeholders, notably those of the European Union. Hence in its activity, EIF examines strategic approaches to social value creation by assessing the efficiency of its financial instruments and investments in pursuit of its main policy objective of improving the financing landscape for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
