European Investment Fund Backs Sienna Biodiversity Fund to Expand Access to Sustainable Finance Across Europe

European Investment Fund Backs Sienna Biodiversity Fund to Expand Access to Sustainable Finance Across Europe

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Fund is providing a €60 million guarantee to the Sienna Biodiversity Private Credit Fund, managed by Sienna IM, to support biodiversity projects across Europe. Backed by the InvestEU Sustainability Guarantee, the initiative will reduce credit risk for lenders and make financing more accessible to early-stage projects and those with limited collateral. The fund, targeting €200 million, will invest in projects focused on ecosystem restoration, natural capital enhancement, and environmental impact reduction. The guarantee aims to attract additional private investment and accelerate the development of biodiversity-focused financing solutions. The initiative highlights the growing importance of biodiversity in Europe’s economic resilience and sustainability agenda.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 2-Apr-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — European Investment Fund is providing a €60 million guarantee to support the Sienna IM-managed Sienna Biodiversity Private Credit Fund, a financing vehicle dedicated to protecting and restoring biodiversity across Europe. The initiative is backed by the InvestEU Sustainability Guarantee and aims to expand access to funding for projects that contribute to environmental preservation.

The guarantee, issued by the EIF as part of the European Investment Bank Group, will cover up to 70% of the credit risk associated with loans to small and medium-sized enterprises. By reducing financial risk, the support is expected to unlock capital for earlier-stage biodiversity initiatives and projects that may lack strong collateral, helping to address funding gaps in this emerging sector.

Through this mechanism, the Sienna Biodiversity Private Credit Fund will be able to finance companies and projects focused on protecting natural ecosystems and enhancing biodiversity. These initiatives are increasingly critical as environmental pressures such as pollution, intensive agriculture, climate change, resource depletion, and invasive species continue to threaten ecosystems across Europe. The fund incorporates measurable impact criteria, enabling transparent tracking of environmental outcomes and helping attract additional private investment into biodiversity-focused activities.

Ambroise Fayolle emphasized that biodiversity protection has become a fundamental pillar of Europe’s long-term economic resilience, food security, and climate adaptation strategy. He noted that the initiative demonstrates how public financial institutions can act as catalysts to mobilize private capital and scale investment in environmental projects.

Structured as an Article 9 fund under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, the Sienna Biodiversity Private Credit Fund has a target size of €200 million. It previously secured a €100 million commitment from the Malakoff Humanis Group. Over a three-year investment period, the fund will support projects aimed at restoring ecosystems, enhancing natural capital, and reducing environmental impacts across Europe.

Fabrice Rossary highlighted that the EIF guarantee strengthens the fund’s ability to manage risk, deploy capital efficiently, and attract additional investors. He noted that several promising investment opportunities have already been identified for deployment under the programme.

Sienna IM will apply rigorous credit assessment, technological tools, and due diligence processes to ensure that investments meet high environmental and financial standards. The agreement builds on an existing partnership between EIF and Sienna IM, further reinforcing their collaboration in sustainable finance.

Marjut Falkstedt described the initiative as a milestone, marking the EIF’s first guaranteed fund focused specifically on biodiversity. She emphasized the urgency of advancing the green transition, noting that environmental action is both an economic necessity and a critical factor for long-term sustainability.

The initiative also reflects the broader commitment of the EIB Group to support environmental and agricultural sectors, with financing for agriculture and the bioeconomy reaching €7.7 billion in the previous year.

Background information

EIB Group

The EIB Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 Member States, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion of new financing and advisory services for over 870 high-impact projects serving eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, territorial cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships and the savings and investment union. Beyond long-term loans for large infrastructure, the EIB Group crowds in private investment for high-risk innovative projects and businesses, with a growing role in Europe’s markets for venture debt, venture capital, guarantees and securitisations.

The EIF is the subsidiary of the EIB specialised in providing equity, guarantees and securitisations to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses and startups across Europe. Acting as an anchor investor, through its extensive network of partnering banks and investment funds, the EIF mobilises private investment and nurtures the ecosystem of venture capital funds to support innovative European entrepreneurs.

High-quality, up-to-date photos of the organisation’s headquarters for media use are available here.

InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps to crowd in private investment for strategic EU priorities like the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings all EU financial instruments previously available for supporting investments within the European Union together under one roof, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through implementing partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

Sienna Investment Managers

Sienna IM is a multi-expertise asset manager with a team of around 110 professionals. Spanning listed and private assets, Sienna IM builds bespoke and innovative solutions for its clients. As of the end of December 2025, the Group had around €33 billion under management, of which over 90% was SFDR Article 8 or 9.

To get the latest updates on Sienna IM initiatives, follow the company on LinkedIn. For more information, please visit the company’s website.

[1] Managed by Sienna AM France, an AMF-approved management company n°GP97118, entity that develops the private debt expertise within the Sienna Investment Managers group.​

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SOURCE: European Investment Bank