Success stories

Discover the impact of financial instruments and how they meet the financing needs of businesses around Europe.

Huras: a rising star in challenging times

Thanks to a loan granted by BNP Paribas Bank of around EUR 1.7 million under the ERDF co-financed Biznesmax guarantee, Huras, a manufacturing machinery and specialised equipment in Poland, was able to develop and grow – even during challenging times.

AL VIA – an ESIF guarantee instrument for smart SMEs in Lombardy

Founded in 2017, the Italian region of Lombardy’s AL VIA programme has taken important steps to help revive the regional economy in the wake of the financial crisis.

Biznesmax ERDF guarantee supporting SMEs in Poland

This video case study explains how 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.

ERDF financial instruments in action: Urban Development in Bulgaria

This video illustrates how an ERDF powered long term loan financed the modernisation of the contemporary art centre and library in Burgas, Bulgaria.

NRB: Supporting innovation and SMEs in Czechia

Through ERDF and ESF financial instruments, Národní rozvojová banka (NRB) — the Czech National Promotional Bank — stimulates investments in energy efficiency, innovative enterprises, SMEs and social entrepreneurs.

Slovak Investment Holding Multi-sector financial instruments in Slovakia

Slovak Investment Holding (SIH) was created by the Slovak Government in 2014 to manage the holding fund of EU shared management financial instruments. SIH manages over EUR 1 billion of EU shared management fund programme resources, through a number of loan, guarantee and equity financial instruments. In addition, SIH has invested resources into projects directly, without financial intermediaries, in sectors including transport infrastructure, energy efficiency, SMEs, creative and cultural industry, and social economy.

FMFIB: Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria – a multi-sector fund of funds

FMFIB is a Holding Fund that manages EU shared management resources through 13 different financial instruments on behalf of five Bulgarian managing authorities. A robust organisational structure has been set up which has allowed specialist expertise to be recruited and retained. This has allowed standardised procedures to be developed, for example in connection with selection, monitoring and audit, securing economies of scale and ensuring experience gained with one financial instrument to benefit future operations. This case study highlights the steps taken to set up the Holding Fund and features the financial instruments set up under the ERDF ‘Innovation and Competitiveness’ and ‘Regions in Growth’ operational programmes.

FOSTER TPE-PME

This fi-compass Showcase 2019 submission includes four video stories about FOSTER. The Occitanie Region together with the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) created and financed the financial instrument FOSTER TPE-PME under the current ESIF programming period 2014-2020, for a financial size of EUR 153 000 000.