EIF and France Active Forge €400 Million Alliance to Empower Social Enterprises

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Fund (EIF) has committed €400 million to bolster France Active’s endeavors in financing socially responsible French enterprises. This collaboration involves a €45 million guarantee from EIF and a €355 million counter-guarantee for bank loans facilitated by France Active Garantie, aiming to amplify support to 1,000 beneficiary companies by 2027. The initiative, backed by the InvestEU program, underscores the EU’s commitment to fostering social entrepreneurship. The agreements were announced during a visit to the Iron Academy, exemplifying the impact on initiatives supporting marginalized communities.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 13-Mar-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Fund (EIF) is backing a total of €400 million in business support by France Active, a leading financier of socially committed French firms. The EIF is guaranteeing France Active’s investments in social enterprises to the tune of €45 million and counter-guaranteeing €355 million of bank loans by its unit France Active Garantie to entrepreneurs with limited access to financing.

The EIF guarantee amounts to €YY, while the counter-guarantee totals €YY.

As a result, France Active aims to double the number of beneficiary companies to 1 000 by end-2027, increasing annual support to €90 million, and France Active Garantie will expand its activities by 50% over the same period. This will lead to more than 10 000 companies benefiting from bank loan guarantees valued at €300 million a year.

“The involvement of the European Union – and of the EIF in particular – is essential to the work of France Active. It enables us to carry out our associative project by mobilising public and private funds, banks and management companies for the benefit of fragile businesses and projects that place social utility at the heart of their model. Supporting our role as guarantor and investor, the EIF provides us with long-term support, which in turn contributes to the development of a more socially responsible economy in all regions,” said Chairman Pierre-René Lemas.

The EIF backing results from a guarantee provided through the InvestEU programme, which will support more than €372 billion in investments towards EU policy priorities by 2027.

France Active and the European Investment Bank Group, of which the EIF is part, announced the two financial agreements during a visit to the Iron Academy in Paris by Mr Lemas and EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. The Iron Academy works in Seine-Saint-Denis to help young people with no qualifications find employment.

“Supporting the lending capacity of microenterprises and social enterprises is very important for maintaining job creation and activity in structures essential to social cohesion in France and across Europe. Through these two agreements, the EIB Group is delighted to be able to strengthen its long-term relationship with France Active Garantie and France Active Investissement, which play an essential role in supporting and developing social entrepreneurship in France,” said EIB Vice-President Fayolle.

Social enterprises supported by France Active through EIF and InvestEU guarantees include the Iron Academy, an association called Le Recho that supports marginalised people in France, and food supplier Shape’Eat, representatives of which attended the signing ceremony.

“European Union instruments for microfinance and social enterprises are effective in improving access to financial resources for the economic players that need them most. This is why the EIF is continuing its collaboration with France Active Garantie and France Active Investissement to strengthen our ability to serve the social finance sector in France,” added Vice-President Fayolle.

European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit stressed the role of InvestEU: “InvestEU provides essential support for social enterprises across Europe. This new financial agreement will be a catalyst for some 10 000 enterprises operating in France, improving their access to financing. This will help create new jobs and contribute to strengthening the social and solidarity economy, which is a priority for the European Union, while bolstering social and territorial cohesion.”

Below are the names of the leading representatives of the Iron Academy, Le Recho and Shape’Eat, and brief descriptions of the three organisations:

Françoise Candier, director of the Iron Academy

The Iron Academy is a production school located in Stains, Seine-Saint-Denis. It trains young people who have left school without a diploma in the metal trades (CAP Métallier). The two-year course is based on a “doing to learn” approach. Supported by a public-interest association, the production school gives young people a new chance by training them in jobs that are in short supply.

France Active has invested €150 000 alongside Banque des Territoires.

Vanessa Krycève, founder of Le Recho

Le Recho is an association founded in 2016 to support marginalised people in France and Europe, with dignity. In order to change the way these people are looked at, the association chooses the medium of cuisine based on the principle that it is a unifying language and a driving force for inclusion and solidarity. Le Recho offers a catering service and provides meals for Le Bal Café in Paris’s 18th arrondissement, in addition to all its other food-related activities.

France Active has invested €30 000 and guaranteed a €60 000 loan from the Nef banking cooperative, up to 65%.

Ananth Purushothaman, founder of Shape’Eat

Ananth Purushothaman created Shape’Eat. He benefited from the Accès+ programme: a €3 000 incentive and enhanced support as part of the government’s scheme for inclusion through self-employment (Ministry of Labour). He set up his business in the heart of a gritty part of Saint-Ouen that provides food products for athletes.

France Active guaranteed 80% of a €60 000 loan from Caisse d’Epargne Ile de France and granted a €24 000 loan.

About the European Investment Fund

The European Investment Fund, part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, designs and implements financial instruments that enable banks and funds (financial intermediaries) to better serve small and medium businesses (SMEs). It supports European SMEs by improving their access to financing through a wide range of selected financial intermediaries. Its work with France Active is part of the InvestEU programme, which aims to give a further boost to sustainable investment, innovation, social inclusion and job creation in Europe.

About InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term financing, mobilising substantial private and public funds for a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investment for the European Union’s political priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the various EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the European Union, making the financing of investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three elements: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Centre and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented by financial partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will support the investment projects of the implementing partners, increasing their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.

France Active, the movement of committed businesses

France Active enables every business to get involved in a project with a positive impact. Setting up a business and getting involved in the local community, giving meaning to your project and transforming society: that’s the challenge facing committed entrepreneurs. France Active and its 35 regional associations are there to advise them on their financing projects and give them access to a unique network of economic and social players. With its two finance companies, France Active supports more than 36 000 businesses. The movement mobilised €485 million in 2023. Each day, France Active works to develop a more inclusive and sustainable economy. Last year, businesses supported by France Active created or consolidated more than 67 000 jobs.

Media Contacts:

European Investment Fund
Christophe Alix
c.alix@eib.org
tel.: +352 4379 84303
mobile: +33 6 11 81 30 99
Website: www.eib.org/press
Press Office: press@eib.org

EIF and France Active Forge €400 Million Alliance to Empower Social Enterprises

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