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Venture debt co-investment platform between the EIB and BPI (the French National Promotional Finance Institution) to support the recovery of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
To strengthen the "FRPME" (Fonds de Renforcement des PMEs) fund recently launched by the French BPI and aiming to support companies impacted by the COVID-19 crisis so they can resist and "rebound" to grasp opportunities once the crisis declines.
The operation consists of a co-investment facility between BPI and the EIB to deploy quasi-equity into French SMEs. It targets a diversified portfolio of SMEs that have met difficulties during the Covid-19 crisis, but whose fundamentals remain sustainable over the long term. COVID-19 has reduced these companies' access to equity capital and thereby hampered their growth and innovation. With decades of experience in providing funding to such SMEs in France, BPI is an ideal partner for the EIB to swiftly deploy capital in that market to alleviate the challenges resulting from the pandemic. From BPI's perspective, the EIB's capital commitment significantly increases its resources and its visibility to support the targeted SMEs.
The EIB on its own would not be able to originate and structure such a number of small tickets in the French market at the speed required by a pandemic relief effort. BPI, with its large on the ground presence and unrivalled market access, is the ideal partner for such a co-investment approach.
The platform's operational guidelines will provide for due diligence of environmental and social aspects for all projects, according to guidelines acceptable to the EIB.
Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.