The InvestEU programme will bring together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the EU, making EU funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient, and more flexible. The InvestEU Programme aims to give an additional boost to sustainable investment, innovation, and job creation in Europe.

The programme will mobilize more than €372 billion of public and private investment through an EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion that backs the investment of implementing partners such as the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and other financial institutions.

The InvestEU Programme supports the following 4 main policy areas:

  • Sustainable Infrastructure window: €9.9 billion
  • Research, Innovation and Digitization window: €6.6 billion
  • SME window: €6.9 billion
  • Social Investment and Skills window: €2.8 billion

All 4 areas can contain strategic investments including Important Projects of Common European Interest to support final recipients whose activities are of strategic importance to the EU, especially in view of the green and digital transitions, of enhanced resilience and of strengthening strategic value chains.

In particular, the last “Social investment and skills” area includes these objectives: Measures to promote gender equality skills, education, training, and related services; Social infrastructure (including health and educational infrastructure and social and student housing); Social innovation, including social impact, impact investing and social outcome contracting; Health and long-term care; Inclusion and accessibility; Cultural and creative activities with a social goal; Integration of vulnerable people, including third-country nationals.

This means that with InvestEU there is an opportunity to address the lack of affordable housing in Europe.

How InvestEU will work?

75% of the EU guarantee will be deployed through the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, the remaining 25% is open to other implementing partners, such as national promotional banks and institutions (NPBIs). This should ensure that also smaller projects will be eligible for funding and that the investments consider local and sectoral specificities.

The InvestEU Fund will be implemented through financial partners who will invest in projects using the EU guarantee. The main partner will be the EIB Group. In addition to the EIB Group, International Financial Institutions active in Europe – such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Developments (EBRD) – and National Promotional Banks will have direct access to the EU guarantee.

How can I apply to the fund?

There are three possible solutions:

The EIB will deploy 75% of the InvestEU guarantee. The remaining 25% is open to others, such as national promotional banks and other international financial institutions like the Council of Europe Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

  1. Because of the instrument’s design, small businesses may find it difficult to meet the InvestEU loan’s financial requirements. The European Investment Bank (EIB) can fund up to 50% of a project, with a €25 million minimum loan amount. Smaller communities or housing associations may find it difficult to meet these requirements if they lack the financial resources to complete the project. Smaller projects, on the other hand, are financed by the EIB through intermediaries such as specialized housing agencies, national promotional banks, and funds. It also aids in the development of investment platforms. Capacity building and bundling of smaller initiatives are both possible with this method. On this website you can find the different intermediaries for each country: https://www.eib.org/intermediarieslist/search/index
  2. InvestEU opened of the guarantee to other actors such as the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and the national promotional banks is an opportunity in this respect. CEB loans in social housing generally finance housing for vulnerable populations. CEB target countries often have relatively weak regulatory and institutional capacity for the provision of affordable housing. Their loans are also smaller and there is considerable scope for technical assistance. You can find more information on the Council of Europe Development Bank’s website:  https://coebank.org/en/project-financing/how-access-ceb-financing/
  3. The InvestEU Portal. This portal will provide an easily accessible and user-friendly project database granting visibility to EU-based projects for which project promoters seek financing and which provides investors with information about investment opportunities available in the EU. The InvestEU Portal allows project promoters to reach investors that they may not be able to reach otherwise. The Portal is the online EU ‘marketplace’ connecting EU-based project promoters to investors worldwide. It provides project promoters with more options to finance their projects. The application form for this portal is very easy. You need to write a summary of the project of 200 words, a longer explanation of it of 500 words, and the total sum you’ll need for the entire project (indicating if you already have some part of the budget covered). Here you can find the InvestEU Portal’s website: https://ec.europa.eu/investeuportal/desktop/en/index.htm

 

To learn more about current calls for proposals or Eurodiaconia’s funding events, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Policy, Projects & Research Officer Vera Nygard at vera.nygard@eurodiaconia.org and our Projects Assistant Giorgia Signoretto at giorgia.signoretto@eurodiaconia.org

Categories: Funding, Funding News