European guarantee for Invest-NL to expand financing options to innovative SMEs

• Invest-NL and European Investment Fund (EIF) sign an agreement under “InnovFin SME Guarantee Facility” to unlock up to € 66 million in SME-lending.
• The EIF’s guarantee for SME support was made available by the European Commission under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).
• Invest-NL shares the EU’s aim of supporting innovative SMEs, and expects to sign up to 10 new operations under this agreement.

Dutch National promotional institution Invest-NL has signed a new guarantee agreement with the European Investment Fund to cover a lending portfolio to innovative Dutch SMEs. This new guarantee enables Invest-NL to further enlarge its financing activities for innovative SMEs, a market segment that appears to be hard-pressed by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. As a result of this agreement, Invest-NL will be able to provide up to € 66 million in loans to innovative SMEs.

The loan guarantees are provided by the InnovFin SME Guarantee Facility under the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020, launched by the European Commission to improve access to finance for innovative SMEs and midcaps. The agreement falls under InnovFin SMEG COVID-19 Support Measures enabled by a top up from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

The agreement means that SMEs can get better financing terms from Invest-NL, through lower interest rates and reduced risk requirements, because of the EIF and the InnovFin-programme taking over part of the risk. It is expected that Invest-NL will be able to sign up to 10 new operations under this agreement.

Ruud Zandvliet, senior investment manager at Invest-NL, said: “Scaling up innovative Dutch SMEs is of vital interest for making the Netherlands more sustainable and innovative. The InnovFin SME Guarantee is a welcome enlargement of our product portfolio for these innovative companies. With the new guarantee backed by the EIF we can now offer them better financing conditions and engage in investments that would otherwise be off limit due to (too) high risk requirements. Furthermore, I am happy to see where the cooperation between the EIF and Invest-NL is taking us and I look forward to explore new opportunities.”

Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People,ValdisDombrovskis, said: “SMEs that are hard-hit by the current crisis should have continuous access to financing to help them get back on their feet and kick-start the economic recovery. Thanks to the guarantee of EIF and the Investment Plan for Europe, Invest-NL will unlock additional loans on favourable terms to support Dutch SMEs in these difficult times.”

“SMEs really are the backbone of the Dutch economy,” addedAlain Godard, Chief Executive of the EIF. “And this unprecedented crisis highlights the need for enhanced access to finance with favourable terms for this segment. The EIF is working around the clock to fulfil its mission of supporting Europe’s SMEs by deploying a broad range of different instruments, from fund investments like the recent Dutch Future Fund, to guarantees like this one.”