Following the purpose of Erste Sparkasse to disseminate prosperity and provide access to financial services for all, a specialized company named Erste Social Finance Holding (ESFH) provides integrated investments in microfinance and social economy in CEE region.
It shall directly or indirectly aim to achieve the primary objectives:
- promoting social innovation and increasing the impact of social organisations
- improving financial stability for people on low incomes and their access to financial services
- Enabling job creation and self-employment
Investments sall deliver tangible social or environmental impacts contributing also to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) alongside with positive financial returns.
Main Activities: ESFH will invest into sustainable and solid social finance business models to support their initiation, upscaling and further development.
ESFH main activities in CEE are financing and educating/mentoring:
- non-profit organizations and social entrepreneurs with the aim to enlarge their positive impact for the society.
- starting entrepreneurs creating new jobs
- people at risk of poverty, marginalized or excluded groups fostering their financial stability and inclusion.
ESFH is operating and will develop in the future more initiatives in social finance categories such as microfinance, developmental finance, inclusive finance, social entreprise lending&investing, impact investing, as well as special financial instruments, e.g. social impact bonds/payment by results or impact funds in the territory of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
