(12 June 2014) – The European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (EIB) 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 intermediaries that lend to SMEs to direct loans to enterprises – helping 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.
The launch took place at a two-day conference, organised by the Greek Presidency of the EU, to discuss how to improve access to finance for research and innovation.