The European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (EIB and EIF) have today launched a new generation of EU financial instruments and advisory services to help innovative firms access finance more easily.

Over the next seven years, it is expected that the "InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators" products will make available more than €24 billion of financing for research and innovation (R&I) by small, medium and large companies and the promoters of research infrastructures. This finance is expected to support up to €48 billion of final R&I investments.

"InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators" will consist of a range of tailored products – from guarantees for financial intermediaries to direct loans to enterprises as well as advisory services - to support the smallest to the largest R&I projects in the EU and countries associated to Horizon 2020, the new EU research programme for 2014-20.

InnovFin builds on the success of the Risk-Sharing Finance Facility developed under the seventh EU framework programme for research and technological development (FP7), which financed 114 R&I projects to the tune of €11.3 billion and in addition provided loan guarantees worth over €1.4 billion.

European Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said:

"Financial instruments provide an innovative way of investing in growth-enhancing companies and activities. The EU lags behind its global competitors in terms of business investment in innovation, so we must encourage banks to lend to these projects and help research-intensive companies get access to this finance. This will help us reach our EU target to invest 3% of GDP in R&D by 2020."

Wilhelm Molterer, EIB Vice–President responsible for EIB Advisory Services, added:

“InnovFin Advisory will utilise the expertise of the EIB Group to enable investors and promoters to launch innovative, new investment as well as build on the success of existing achievements. This advisory service is expected to support public and private sector investments of over €20 billion in the next 7 years."

InnovFin guarantees and loans will be backed by funds set aside under Horizon 2020 and by the EIB Group for the purpose of supporting R&I activities, which by nature are riskier and harder to appraise than traditional investments.

The financial funding on offer will be available to organisations ranging in size from  SMEs to large companies with up to 3000 employees, including:

• InnovFin Large Projects aims to improve access to risk finance for R&I projects emanating from larger firms; universities and public research organisations; R&I infrastructures (including innovation-enabling infrastructures); public-private partnerships; and special-purpose vehicles or projects (including those promoting first-of-a-kind, commercial-scale industrial demonstration projects). Firms and other entities located in Member States and Associated Countries will be eligible as final beneficiaries. Loans from €25 million to €300 million will be delivered directly by the European Investment Bank.
• InnovFin MidCap Growth Finance offers senior and subordinated loans or guarantees (including mezzanine and quasi equity financing), in order to improve access to finance mainly for innovative larger midcaps (up to 3000 employees), but also SMEs and small midcaps. Loans from €7.5 million to €25 million will be delivered directly by the European Investment Bank to eligible beneficiaries in EU Member States and Associated Countries.