Latvia’s Altum Joins €300 Million EU Guarantee Scheme to Boost Exports for Ukraine Reconstruction

Latvia’s Altum Joins €300 Million EU Guarantee Scheme to Boost Exports for Ukraine Reconstruction

(IN BRIEF) Latvia’s finance institution Altum has signed up for the InvestEU Ukraine Export Credit Guarantee Facility, becoming the tenth EU country to do so alongside nine others. The facility, backed by the EIF and part of the EIB Group, provides guarantees to SMEs and Mid-Caps exporting goods—like machinery, construction materials, and advanced technologies—and vital services to Ukraine amid its reconstruction during the war with Russia. Latvia will receive €7.2 million of the facility’s €300 million in EIF-backed guarantees, contributing to support for around 70 Latvian exporters out of over 550 across the EU. The programme is designed not only to sustain and expand EU-Ukraine trade but also to advance Ukraine’s integration into the European Single Market and its EU accession prospects. High-level EU and Ukrainian officials underscore the initiative’s role in mitigating risk, unlocking new opportunities, and demonstrating the EU’s commitment to Ukraine’s economic recovery and long-term resilience.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 11-Jul-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Latvia has become the tenth European Union member state to join a concerted EU effort aimed at bolstering trade with Ukraine. Today, Altum—the country’s development finance institution—formally enrolled in the InvestEU Ukraine Export Credit Guarantee Facility, a collaborative programme established by the European Commission alongside the European Investment Fund (EIF).

Through this facility, EU export credit agencies extend guarantees to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Mid-Cap firms that ship goods and services to Ukraine. These national guarantees are themselves supported by the EIF, which operates within the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group.

Joining Latvia in this partnership are nine fellow EU nations: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. The scheme aims to stimulate exports of critical goods—ranging from machinery and construction materials to advanced technologies—and essential services needed for Ukraine’s economy and reconstruction during its ongoing conflict with Russia.

EIB Group President Nadia Calviño commented, “This initiative offers a substantial lift to Ukraine’s recovery, creating a mutually beneficial dynamic: it sustains EU companies’ trade and investment in Ukraine at a pivotal moment.”

In total, the Export Credit Guarantee Facility allocates €300 million in EIF-backed guarantees among participating national agencies, of which Latvia will access €7.2 million. Three additional Member States are slated to join shortly, with the programme forecast to assist over 550 EU exporters, including some 70 Latvian firms.

Altum CEO Reinis Bērziņš noted, “By becoming part of this EU facility, Altum enhances its capacity to furnish Latvian SMEs with vital export guarantees, granting them entry into Ukraine’s reconstruction market. It’s a strategic chance for our businesses to aid a neighbouring economy while exploring new growth avenues.”

Beyond immediate trade benefits, the facility supports Ukraine’s broader aspiration to integrate into the European Single Market and advance its EU membership bid. European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis observed, “Funded by the EU budget, this scheme enables and encourages EU businesses to maintain and expand trade with Ukraine, marking a key step in deeper economic integration—an essential component of Ukraine’s accession journey.”

Since its mid-2024 launch, the facility has already garnered strong interest from EU enterprises, rapidly mobilizing the full €300 million EIF backing. The EIF’s involvement not only safeguards existing export relationships but also paves the way for fresh trade linkages with Ukraine.

Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko added, “While international aid is vital, Ukraine’s true recovery hinges on reviving and growing real economic partnerships grounded in trade and industrial cooperation. We applaud the EU Member States’ commitment to their exporters engaging with Ukraine. This guarantee facility is a strategic instrument that helps firms on both sides manage risks, seize opportunities, and reinforce confidence in Ukraine as an open, resilient, and forward-looking market.”

Background information

About Altum

JSC Development Finance Institution ALTUM is a Latvia state-owned company that ensures access of the enterprises and households to the financial resources by means of support financial instruments – loans, guarantees, investments in venture capital funds – in the areas defined as important and to be supported by the state, thus developing the national economy and enhancing mobilization of the private capital and financial resources. The funding for implementation of state support programmes comprises both EU funds and national public funding as well as funding raised by ALTUM with international institutions and capital markets.

State aid programmes administered by ALTUM, are implemented with public resources –European Union and other international institutions, national and ALTUM’s attracted financing. On 28 January 2025 Moody’s Ratings affirmed Altum’s Baa1 long-term issuer rating, with outlook stable.

About the EIF

The European Investment Fund is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, the EIF furthers key EU policy objectives such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability, and more. In Estonia, commercial banks such as Swedbank, SEB, LHV, Luminor, and Citadele have previously entered into similar agreements with EIF.

About InvestEU programme

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investments for the European Union’s policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the European Union, 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 implemented through financial 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.

Media Contacts:

EIB Group
Kristiina Randmaa
M. +352 4379 72894, e-mail:  k.randmaa@ext.eib.org
Website: www.eif.org — press@eib.org

Altum
Sandra Eglīte
Head of Public Relations, ALTUM
Phone: +371 26577810
Email: sandra.eglite@altum.lv

SOURCE: European Investment Fund