ALMA PARTNERS (EGF VDC)

Alma is a newly established fund in Luxembourg (in the legal form of a Reserved Alternative Investment Fund (RAIF)) led by a first-time team, coming from Kreos. The EIB will establish a venture debt co-invest platform with Alma to support investments and working capital needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) established in the EU.

The EIB investment aims to provide financing for growing and innovative SMEs and support their recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.

The pandemic has exacerbated the known difficulties that SMEs and especially innovative SMEs experienced in accessing cost- effective, long-term finance. These difficulties arise from the small scale of activities, uncertainties in the market and inherent riskiness of innovation activities leading to lower rates of return and higher risk of failure. The EIB co-investment with ALMA would help SMEs to alleviate the immediate negative effects of the pandemic by offering finance to strengthen their competitiveness and build-up their future resilience through the support to small-scale investments in several innovative high technology sectors. The targeted innovative SMEs will develop and deploy technologies that will be adopted eventually more widely in the EU and thereby they will contribute to strengthen Europe's economic resilience and competitiveness, support digital transformation and help withstand major adverse events such as the pandemic. 

Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.

Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.