New fi-compass case studies highlight the key role of ERDF financial instruments in addressing market failures in the research, development and innovation (RDI) sector and supporting innovative enterprises in Italy and Poland.
Offering readers practical insights into the implementation of these financial instruments, examples of how they impacted companies on the ground and key lessons learned, these case studies serve as an important source for ERDF managing authorities considering to implement similar financial instruments in their respective Member States or regions in the 2021-2027 programming period.
Addressing market failures in the RDI sector with ERDF resources
The Italian Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR) committed EUR 270 million of ERDF programme resources to a Fund of Funds managed by the European Investment Bank. The Fund of Funds selected three financial intermediaries to establish financial instruments to support innovative enterprises in Southern Italy. Loans, equity and quasi-equity investments were provided by the ERDF financial instruments.
By end-June 2022, a total of EUR 140 million of programme resources, together with more than EUR 37 million of private sector co-investment has been committed to support 27 businesses. Roboze and Gelesis – two high-tech companies – were among those that received financial as well as technical support. Find out more about Roboze in our blog post and watch the video case study here.
ERDF fostering innovation of Polish businesses
The ERDF-powered Biznesmax with a simple first-loss portfolio guarantee is supporting the development of innovative entrepreneurs as well as green projects in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Poland.
The instrument is combined with an interest rate subsidy. It was able to quickly adapt to changing circumstances by using the new regulatory flexibilities of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII) and Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus (CRII Plus).
The allocation of resources to Biznesmax was increased several times due to its high uptake by the targeted final recipients and amounts as at November 2022 around EUR 628m.
As of mid-2022, the instrument had already committed loans to over 1 200 enterprises in Poland with an overall value of approximately EUR 1 billion. For example, Huras, a family-owned company producing manufacturing machinery, could grow and expand their business thanks to an investment loan secured by the Biznesmax guarantee.
The case study will soon be published on the fi-compass website, stay tuned!
Soon to be published