European Investment Fund

Template:Politics of the European Union mini The European Investment Fund (EIF), established in 1994,<ref name="Statutes of EIF" /> is a financial institution for the provision of risk finance to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), headquartered in Luxembourg.<ref name="EIF website">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Impact Europe website">Template:Cite web</ref> It is an EU body with the mandate to facilitate access to finance for European SMEs, by sharing or reducing the financial risk.<ref name="EthiFinance website" /> The EIF is a part of the European Investment Bank Group and its task is to support the European Union public policy goals. <ref name="EthiFinance website">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Fund Managers book">Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2024, the EIF channeled €14.4 billion of financing towards deeptech, life sciences, greentech, social impact funds, dual use defense technologies, and scale-up funds.<ref name="EIF Annual Report 2024">Template:Cite book</ref> Near to 43% of these investments (€6.1 billion) were green, and 45% went to regions in which economic development is below the EU average.<ref name="EIF Annual Report 2024" /> In April 2025, Sifted reported that the EIF was “Europe’s biggest limited partner”,<ref name="Sifted">Template:Cite news</ref> with “€143.7 billion in assets under management.”<ref name="Sifted"/>

It does not lend money to SMEs directly; rather it provides finance through financial intermediaries that include banks, alternative lenders, and equity funds.<ref name="Moody’s Ratings">Template:Cite web</ref> Its main operations are in the areas of venture capital, private equity, private debt, guaranteeing loan portfolios, and securitization.<ref name="EthiFinance website" /><ref name="Impact Europe website" /> In 2024, the EIF placed more than €7 billion in equity investments<ref name="EIF Annual Report 2024" /><ref name="Sifted"/> and worked with 96 new financial intermediaries.<ref name="EIF Annual Report 2024" />

Its shareholders are: the European Investment Bank (59.78%); the European Union, represented by the European Commission (29.72%); and 38 financial institutions (10.5%).<ref name="Register of Shareholders">Template:Cite web</ref> As of 1 January 2023, the Chief Executive is Marjut Falkstedt.<ref name="Delano">Template:Cite news</ref>

The EIF implemented the SME portion of the EU's European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), also known as the Juncker Plan.<ref name="Moody’s Ratings" /> Launched in 2015, the EFSI aimed to improve employment and economic growth by mobilizing €315 billion investment in European infrastructure projects by mid-2018.<ref name="BBC Laurence">Template:Cite news</ref> Since 2021, the EIF and the EIB have had a key role in implementing InvestEU, which is the successor to Juncker's EFSI.<ref name="Moody’s Ratings" /><ref name="Operational Plan">Template:Cite web</ref>

The EIF participated in the EU's COVID-19 crisis response via the €25 billion Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF), launched in August 2020 to help SMEs through the crisis.<ref name="GTA EUR 25">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Moody’s Ratings" />

The EIF employs more than 700 people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The EIF was founded in 1994 by the European Community (represented by the European Commission), the European Investment Bank and private financial institutions from 12 European countries.<ref name="Journal" /> The foundational legal document, the Statutes of the European Investment Fund, was adopted by the EIB Board of Governors on 25 May 1994.<ref name="Journal" /><ref name="Slovak Ministry">Template:Cite web</ref> The Statutes set the goals and the operation of the EIF under the European Investment Bank framework. It established EIF as a public-private partnership with the initial capital of 2 billion ecus, divided into 2000 shares.<ref name="Journal">Template:Cite journal</ref> The 1994 Statutes specified that the task of the Fund was to support “the development of trans-European networks in the areas of transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructures, and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises”,<ref name="Journal"/> by providing guarantee instruments for SME loans.<ref name="EiF website History">Template:Cite web</ref> The list of initial shareholders included financial institutions from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK.<ref name="Journal" />

In 1997, the EIF started its activities in venture capital.<ref name="EiF website History" /> In June 2000, the EIF was restructured, and the European Investment Bank became the majority shareholder.<ref name="EiF website History" /> The European Investment Bank Group was established, and the EIF became the venture capital arm of the EIB Group.<ref name="EIF - timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="EiF website History" /> It has continued to provide guarantees for SME financing to financial institutions across Europe.<ref name="EiF website History" />

When the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker (2014–2019) introduced the €315 billion Investment plan for Europe,<ref name="BBC Juncker's plan">Template:Cite news</ref> centered around the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the EIF led the implementation of the SME Window of EFSI.<ref name="Moody’s Ratings" /> Launched in July 2015 by the European Union and the European Investment Bank Group, EFSI aimed to attract private investment (loans) for infrastructure projects that would kick-start Europe's economy.<ref name="BBC Juncker's plan" /><ref name="BBC Laurence" />

The EIF also participated in the EU's COVID-19 crisis response via the €25 billion Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF), launched in August 2020 to support SMEs in getting through the crisis.<ref name="GTA EUR 25" /><ref name="Moody’s Ratings" /> For example, EIF's €350 million guarantee to Spanish banks, announced in December 2021, aimed to help the country's SMEs recover liquidity and safeguard jobs during the pandemic.<ref name="The Paypers">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2024, the EIF marked 30 years of operation and became the official partner of the European Association of Guarantee Institutions (AECM).<ref name="Slovene Enterprise Fund">Template:Cite web</ref> European Investment Fund estimated that, in the three decades since founding, it has financed around 2.1 million of micro, small and medium-sized businesses in Europe.<ref name="Slovene Enterprise Fund" />

Activity areas

The European Investment Fund has a mandate from the European Union to support the creation and development of small and mid-sized companies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is an enabler of EU policy objectives.<ref name="Moody’s Ratings" /> It operates mainly in the EU countries, with some activity in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and in EU candidate and potential candidate countries.<ref name="Moody’s Ratings" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Key SME finance initiatives of the EIF are the InvestEU programme and ETCI fund of funds.

InvestEU

InvestEU accounted for around 45% of the EIF activity in 2022,<ref name="EIF - Who we are">Template:Cite web</ref> and for 40 percent (€5.75 billion) of the EIF commitments in 2024.<ref name="EIF Annual Report 2024" /> The program is policy-led and built around four investment pillars: sustainable infrastructure; research, innovation and digitisation; small and medium-sized businesses; and social investment and skills.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Under the InvestEU program, the EIF launched the first guarantee instrument “dedicated exclusively to sustainability”.<ref name="EIF - Who we are" /> Female representation, investments in climate and infrastructure funds and support for tech scale-ups and IPOs have been listed by the EIF as the novelties that InvestEU has brought since 2022.<ref name="EIF - Who we are" /> InvestEU is implemented on behalf of the European Union, and is the successor to the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), also known as the “Juncker Plan”. The EIB Group, of which EIF is part, is responsible for managing 75% of the InvestEU.<ref name="Operational Plan" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

ETCI and TechEU

The European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) is a fund of funds that was launched in February 2023 by Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, together with the European Investment Bank Group.<ref name="Science Business - Naujokaitytė">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="EIF - about ETCI">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The ETCI invests in venture capital funds that invest in European scaleups, i.e. fast-growing tech companies.<ref name="Science Business - Naujokaitytė" /> At the time of founding, the ETCI capital was €3.75 billion.<ref name="Science Business - Naujokaitytė" />

In May 2025 the European Investment Bank announced plans to provide €70 billion in startup and scaleup funding by 2027, under the wider TechEU platform launching later in the year.<ref name="Silicon Canals - Ravichandran">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The EIB reported that the majority of capital for later-stage funding of European scaleups (typically in the range above €50 million) is coming from outside Europe; for such rounds of funding, “there are at least seven times more funds in the US than in the EU”.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Stakes in EU tech companies are often sold out of Europe, and often to US investors. TechEU aims to support European tech innovation and close the funding gap with the US.<ref name="Silicon Canals - Ravichandran" />

In 2024, the EIF established the Defence Equity Facility, an equity fund worth €175 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In July 2024, the EIF signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NATO’s Innovation Fund (NIF).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Governance

The European Investment Fund is managed by three authorities: the General Meeting, the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive.<ref name="Statutes of EIF">Template:Cite web</ref>

General Meeting

The General Meeting is held at least once per year.<ref name="Statutes of EIF" /> It consists of one representative of the European Investment Bank, one member of the European Commission and one representative from each financial institution that holds EIF shares.<ref name="Statutes of EIF" /> Each fund member's voting power corresponds to their number of shares.<ref name="Statutes of EIF" /> Decisions are adopted by the majority of the votes cast.<ref name="Statutes of EIF" /> General Meeting can decide on the admission of new members, approve annual reports submitted by the Board of Directors, approve annual balance sheets and PL accounts, amend the Statutes, appoint the Audit Board, increase the EIF capital, suspend or expel members, appoint the Board of Directors et al.<ref name="Statutes of EIF" />

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors has seven members. They are appointed by the General Meeting for a term of two years.<ref name="Statutes of EIF" /> Each of the three shareholder groups is represented.<ref name="EIF - Governance">Template:Cite web</ref> The Board meets nine to ten times per year and is accountable only to the General Meeting.<ref name="Statutes of EIF" /><ref name="EIF - Governance" /> It has the power to decide on all the EIF operations, which includes setting the return criteria and the limits of borrowing operations. It appoints the Chief Executive and the Deputy Chief Executive and submits the annual accounts and report to the General Meeting.<ref name="Statutes of EIF" />

Chief Executive

The EIF is managed by a Chief Executive, appointed for a term of up to 5 years. The Chief Executive oversees the daily operations of the EIF and reports to the Board.<ref name="Statutes of EIF" />

Audit Board

The EIF is audited annually by an independent Audit Board, appointed by the General Meeting. The Audit Board usually has six members.<ref name="Statutes of EIF" /> It checks if EIF's operations have been carried out in accordance with the Statues, Rules of Procedure, and sound standards of banking. It checks if the financial accounts submitted by the Board of Directors give a true view of EIF's financial position, assets and liabilities.<ref name="Statutes of EIF" />

See also

• Institutions of the European Union
• European Investment Bank
• Development finance institution
• International Monetary Fund
• International financial institutions