The EIB Group and the European Commission launch the European Progress Microfinance Facility

The EIB and the government of Luxembourg signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to continue supporting together microfinance activities in ACP countries, including those hit by the Ebola crisis. The agreement was signed on the margins of the 5^th European Microfinance Award ceremony hosted by the EIB and dedicated to microfinance and environmental sustainability.

In late September 2022, Secrétariat général de l’enseignement catholique (SeGEC), Belfius Banque, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the DUSS consultancy launched a major project to equip private schools with solar panels. A year and a half later, all of the partners together with Reno.energy — the company that won the installation call for tenders in 2023 — have stated that the project has so far been a success. 

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Umicore have signed a €350 million financing agreement to support Umicore’s research, development and innovation (RDI) in rechargeable battery materials technologies for electric vehicles (EV) and the recycling of electric vehicle batteries. The eight-year loan, benefitting from competitive financing conditions, will contribute to the development of innovative technologies at Umicore’s research centres in Olen, Hoboken (Belgium), Kokkola (Finland), Hanau (Germany) and Nysa (Poland). It follows a €125 million loan that the EIB had granted to Umicore in 2020 to help finance Europe’s first production facility for cathode active materials for electric vehicles in Poland.