EIF Invests €25 Million in IB Deuda Impacto España to Support Sustainable Development in Spain’s SMEs

Maria Samoilova and and Marco Marrone, Chief Investment Officer EIF

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Fund (EIF) has committed €25 million to the IB Deuda Impacto España fund to support Spanish SMEs involved in high-impact sectors such as rural development, inclusive labor markets, climate, and sustainable agriculture. This investment, which is the second EIF-backed initiative under Spain’s Regional Resilience Fund and its Alternative Lending Instrument for Sustainable Development, aims to provide sustainable financing for 40 projects across Spain. The fund is managed by Impact Bridge Asset Management and is supported by MicroBank, CaixaBank, and other entities. This move is part of Spain’s broader strategy to channel NextGenerationEU funds into transformative social and environmental initiatives.

(PRESS RELEASE) MADRID, 28-Jan-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Fund (EIF), a part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, has committed €25 million to the IB Deuda Impacto España fund, aiming to provide financial support to Spanish firms in sectors focused on social and environmental issues. These sectors include rural development, inclusive labor markets, climate, circular economy, sustainable agriculture, and gender equality. This investment marks the second EIF-backed commitment under Spain’s Regional Resilience Fund and its Alternative Lending Instrument for Sustainable Development, reinforcing the country’s drive to channel NextGenerationEU funds into impactful initiatives.

Managed by Impact Bridge Asset Management, the fund has a target size of €150 million and focuses on providing funding to 40 social and environmental projects across Spain. The fund is also supported by MicroBank, the social impact arm of CaixaBank, and holds registration as a European Social Entrepreneurship Fund (EuSEF). The EIF’s investment will expand financing options for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), boosting innovation and sustainability.

The Regional Resilience Fund, created by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Enterprise, is part of Spain’s Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan under the NextGenerationEU program. It aims to promote environmental and social projects in Spain’s autonomous communities and has been endorsed by several Spanish public organizations.

Inés Carpio, Spanish Treasury Director General for International Finance, emphasized the importance of the initiative, noting its role in providing SMEs with the necessary financing to support growth, territorial cohesion, and gender equality. Marco Marrone, EIF Chief Investment Officer, also highlighted how the EIF’s continued partnership with Impact Bridge strengthens their collective efforts to provide sustainable financing solutions that benefit Spain’s social and environmental goals.

Maria Samoilova, Managing Partner of Impact Bridge, expressed gratitude for the EIF’s trust, noting that this partnership enables the fund to drive impactful change across key sectors, benefiting communities in need.

The IB Deuda Impacto España fund had already received €30 million from the EIF, with additional funds coming from the InvestEU program, marking a significant contribution to Spain’s sustainable development initiatives.

Background information

About the Regional Resilience Fund

The Regional Resilience Fund was created to facilitate access to NextGenerationEU loans from the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for the autonomous communities, with the aim of boosting investments and developing projects in eight priority areas: social and affordable housing; urban renewal; transport and sustainable tourism; the energy transition; water and waste management; the care economy; research, development and innovation; and the competitiveness of industry and SMEs.

The fund is led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, which relies on the autonomous communities and cities to perform project selection and on the EIB Group as a strategic management partner.

In June 2024, the EIB Group and the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise signed the agreement to launch the Regional Resilience Fund and activate the first phase of available financing totalling up to €3.4 billion, including:

• a direct financing mechanism, to co-finance EIB-supported operations in sectors like renewable energy, clean transport and sustainable infrastructure;
• an intermediated mechanism managed by financial intermediaries selected by the EIB, to support projects in urban development and sustainable tourism;
• two instruments intermediated by the EIF that will facilitate SME financing for innovation, sustainability and competitiveness.

About the European Investment Fund

The EIF is part of the EIB Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s microenterprises and SMEs by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, it contributes to the achievement of key EU policy goals such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability.

About Impact Bridge Asset Management

Impact Bridge is a Spanish asset management company serving institutional investors, with more than €300 million under management. It is specialised in quality social impact investment, and focuses on projects that generate impact that is authentic, intentional and measurable. Founded in 2018, it has a team of professionals with extensive experience in the most prestigious institutions in asset management, sustainable investment, social impact and academia. Its investor base consists of institutional investors like pension funds, foundations and family offices.

Media Contacts:

EIF:

Maite Cordero | m.corderomunoz@eib.org | Tel.: +34 606 66 82 62

Website: www.eif.org | Press Office: +352 4379 21000 | press@eib.org

X: @eif_eu

Impact Bridge:

Silvia Gimeno | sgimeno@quum.com | Mobile: +34 616 692 807

Website: https://www.impactbridge.com

SOURCE: European Investment Fund