European Investment Fund

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is a risk financer for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Europe. The EIF is part of the EIB Group. The main objectives of the EIF are to foster the EU objectives, especially in the field of entrepreneurship, growth, innovation, research and development, employment, and regional development. It supports Europe's SMEs by improving their access to finance through a wide range of selected financial intermediaries. To this end, it designs, promote and implement equity and debt financial instruments which specifically target SMEs. The EIF does not invest in SMEs directly; it invests in fund management companies and offer guarantees and other products to financial intermediaries who extend loans and equity investments to SMEs who meet the eligibility and credit risk requirements.