The Investment Plan for Europe (Juncker’s plan) is one of the key EU steps in boosting investment in Europe, aimed primarily at creating jobs and boosting growth. A large sum of money from the plan will flow into both small and medium Croatian companies.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 7th of December, 2018, the European Investment Fund (EIF) will support Privredna banka Zagreb (PBZ) with the guarantee contract for 25 million euro’s worth of new credit for innovative small and medium-sized Croatian companies (MSPs) and those of a smaller size (up to 500 employees).
The EIF guarantee has been secured through the Investment Plan for Europe (Juncker’s plan), through the Innovfin SME Guarantee Program, established by the EIF, part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission (EC).
Innovfin’s guarantee enables innovative MSPs and small and medium Croatian companies to borrow under more favourable conditions than currently available on the Croatian banking market, meaning that the loans included in the Innovfin portfolio will enable MSPs, among other things, to grow and and open up new job opportunities.
Carlos Moedas, the EU’s commissioner for research, science and innovation, stated: “I welcome the new contract supported by Juncker’s plan and Obzor 2020 in Croatia, which brings new funding for innovative Croatian small and medium companies, and that’s often exactly what they needed to launch their new products, integrate innovative processes, create new jobs, and expand their business outside of the local market.”
Dario Scannapieco, EIB’s vice president said: “Innovation and MSP support is one of the top priorities for the EIF and the EIB Group. Innovations and MSPs are crucial to Croatia and to the European Union in its efforts to improve and maintain competitiveness on local and global markets, create new jobs, and create conditions for sustainable economic development. We’re happy to find a reliable partner in PBZ for such an important task.”
Dinko Lucić, CEO of Privredna banka Zagreb, said: “For many years, Privredna banka Zagreb has been very active in establishing and supporting programs aimed at developing the MSP segment and striving to contribute more to the strong growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in the country. The bank has confirmed this by participating in the COSME program and now in InnovFin, through which innovative MSP clients will have further facilitated access to funding sources and more favourable lending will be enabled.”
The Investment Plan for Europe (Juncker’s plan) is one of the key European Union steps in boosting investment in Europe, creating jobs and boosting growth. The EIB Group plays a key role in this investment plan.
With the European Investment Funds (EFSI) funds, the EIB and the European Investment Fund (EIF) can take on a larger share of risk in projects, encouraging private investors to participate more in these projects. Initially, EFSI was to launch 315 billion euro in investments across the European Union over a period of three years, until mid-2018.
In December 2017, the European Parliament and the EU’s member states reached agreement on extending EFSI’s lifetime to the year 2020 and thus increasing the financial resources to a massive 500 billion euro. In addition to the EFSI, the new EIAH advisory platform helps both the public and the private sector’s project promoters to structure investment projects more professionally. The investment plan should also create an EU regulatory environment that is favoured by investments.
Until November 2018, Juncker’s plan has already mobilised 360 billion euro in additional investment, including over one billion euro in Croatia alone, with 850,000 small and medium Croatian companies benefiting from easier access to finances.
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