EIF supports micro-enterprises and social entrepreneurs

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has signed guarantee agreements with Soria Futuro, Treball Solidari and Fundación Seira to facilitate access to finance for microenterprises and entrepreneurs in the Spanish social sector.

The EIF guarantee will enable these organisations to mobilise up to EUR 12 million in favour of the Spanish social sector and reduce the barriers to accessing finance traditionally faced by microenterprises and entrepreneurs working in this sector.

With Soria Futuro, the EIF has signed a guarantee of up to EUR 2 million to support the granting of loans to companies with a social purpose, focusing on the province of Soria and on areas such as sustainability, innovation and technological development in order to revitalise one of the most depopulated areas of Spain.

With the Seira Foundation, the EIF has signed a guarantee of up to EUR 3.3 million to facilitate access to finance for the social and cooperative economy in Catalonia.

With Treball Solidari the EIF has signed a guarantee of up to EUR 5 million to support the granting of microfinance to projects driven by immigrant women entrepreneurs with a focus on the autonomous communities of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Madrid.

The signing of the agreement took place in Madrid in the presence of Marco Marrone, Chief Investment Officer of the EIF, Jaime Durán, Policy Officer of DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission, Sergio Cabrerizo Director of Soria Futuro, Antonio Sierra Rincón of Treball Solidari and Laia Bonastra Arguello of Fundación Seira.

“Thanks to these agreements, the EIF continues to strengthen its commitment to the Spanish social sector and to facilitate access to finance for micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs whose main objective is to contribute to a better world,” said Marco Marrone, EIF Chief Investment Officer. “The alliance with Soria Futuro, Treball Solidari and Fundación Seira will allow the EIF’s investment to reach where it has the greatest impact and where it is most needed to boost the social sector in Spain.

This agreement is an important boost for the activity of Soria Futuro, which will make it possible to exponentially increase the economic and social impact that we generate in the province of Soria,” said Sergio Cabrerizo, director of Soria Futuro.

For his part, the president of Treball Solidari, Antoni Sierra, said that “for us it is a recognition of the good work of the programme over the last 14 years and a door to a new stage where we hope to be able to help many more people in vulnerable situations in our country”.

Laia Bonastra, President of Fundación Seira, commented “two and a half years ago when we created a patient, non-speculative investment vehicle to promote cooperativism, we knew how difficult it would be to consolidate the project, but thanks to this guarantee it will allow us to promote this dream that seemed impossible”.

The EIF guarantees are backed by InvestEU, the EU programme aimed at mobilising investments worth more than 372 billion euros up to 2027.

General information about the EIF

About the EIF

The EIF is part of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group). Its core mission is to support European micro, small and medium-sized enterprises by facilitating their access to finance. The EIF designs and develops venture capital and growth capital instruments, guarantees and microfinance instruments specifically targeted at this segment of the economy. Through its activity, it contributes to key EU policy objectives such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitisation, social impact, skills and human capital development, climate action and environmental sustainability.

The EIB Group, which includes the EIF and the European Investment Bank (EIB), signed EUR 12.3bn of new financing in Spain for more than 100 high-impact projects by 2024, thus contributing to the country’s dual green and digital transition, economic growth, competitiveness and improved services for citizens.

About InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by mobilising significant private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps to mobilise private investment in support of EU policy priorities such as the European Green Pact and the digital transition. InvestEU brings together under one umbrella the EU financial instruments previously available to support investment in the European Union, making the financing of investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through partners who will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of EUR 26.2 billion. The full budget guarantee will support partners’ investment projects, increase their risk-bearing capacity and mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investments.

About Treball Solidari

Treball Solidari is a NGDO founded in 2000 with the main objective of promoting human development through work. With its headquarters in Palma, in recent years it has been extending its delegations in Menorca, Eivissa, Barcelona, Cantabria, Madrid, Valladolid and Valencia. The lines of action are focused on international cooperation and education for development; programmes of labour insertion in Spain for people in vulnerable situations through initiatives such as CONFÍA, focused on promoting self-employment among women or COMBINA, to facilitate and orientate in labour insertion and professional orientation. It also accompanies people in entrepreneurship and people who wish to return to their place of origin through RETORNO VOLUNTARIO (VOLUNTARY RETURN).

About Fundació Seira

Fundació Seira is the benchmark institution in social and cooperative finance in Catalonia, set up in 2008 with the aim of supporting and promoting cooperatives, especially worker cooperatives. Seira is the investment vehicle of the Federation of Worker Cooperatives of Catalonia and is the first patient and sustainable financing solution designed to consolidate Social and Cooperative Economy entities. Seira contributes to building trust between financial institutions and cooperatives through a range of practical tools and training proposals adapted to their needs. Since its inception, Seira Inversió Social has invested in 28 Social and Cooperative Economy projects, having disbursed a total volume of €2,348,411. In addition, in the last year it has provided financial guidance to 122 entities, obtaining funding of more than €12.5M.

About Soria Futuro

Soria Futuro, S.A. is an investment company established in 2002 and currently owned by Caja Rural de Soria, the Instituto para la Competitividad Empresarial de Castilla y León and the Diputación Provincial de Soria. Its main objective is to promote the economic and social development of Soria by supporting business projects that carry out activities in the province by investing in them through financial instruments such as participative loans and/or temporary capital participations. The entity also offers exhaustive hand-ons support to the projects invested in. Soria Futuro operates as an evergreen vehicle and has managed to create a balanced and stable business model, generating an appropriate balance between social and economic impact. Thus, since its launch, the investment vehicle has invested in dozens of Soria companies, promoting an induced investment for the region of close to €90 million and the creation of more than 900 jobs (equivalent to more than 2% of the active population of Soria). Likewise, at the end of 2024, its book equity is 1.57 times its share capital thanks to the active management of its resources. The main sectors invested in by the company are energy transition, health, agri-food and forestry. The InvestEU programme is expected to mobilise a direct investment of €2 million, generating an estimated €9 million in induced investment and creating and/or maintaining 160 jobs in the region.

More information: European Commission