Brussels – The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Mediobanca have signed a new EUR 100 million agreement aimed at improving access to credit for Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a particular focus on micro enterprises, female-led entrepreneurs, and those active in cohesion regions.
Gelsomina Vigliotti, EIB Vice-President, and Emanuele Flappini, Chief Financial Officer of the Mediobanca Group, signed the EUR 100m contract. It is the first-ever agreement between the EIB and Mediobanca in which Mediobanca’s subsidiary, Compass Banca, will primarily intermediate the funds. It is estimated that the EIB’s funding will help unlock up to 200 million euros of new finance for the real economy.
The resources made available by Mediobanca will be deployed in the form of new loans on favorable terms to boost the competitiveness of beneficiary enterprises and foster new investments. Of the total financed in favor of Italian SMEs, 60 percent of the funds will be reserved for micro-enterprises, i.e., companies with fewer than 10 employees, while 20 percent will go to companies led by women or projects promoting gender equality. There will be particular attention on companies operating in central and southern Italy, in the cohesion regions.
“Supporting access to credit for microenterprises, female-led entrepreneurs, and businesses operating in less developed regions of Italy means investing in the future of the country. Inclusion and territorial development are two key pillars of the EIB’s investment strategy: no real growth can prosper unless it is equally distributed, and no innovation exists if whole regions or segments of the working population are excluded,” Vigliotti said.
“Promoting the growth of Italian companies has always been our goal, a commitment that has gradually adapted to the changing needs of today’s economy, which now mostly comprises small and medium-sized businesses. We are therefore delighted to begin this collaboration with the European Investment Bank,” Flappini emphasized.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
