Venture debt

EIB Venture Debt is structured as mid-long term debt with equity features to finance growth stage innovative companies that need additional funding to:

• Scale-up from pilot to mass manufacturing
• Further develop products and services through research and development
• Expand internationally

• Venture debt relies on the capacity of the companies to generate cash flow in the future rather than focusing on historical financials
• It is typically unsecured and istherefore targeted for companies where growth is mainly driven by intellectual property instead of tangible assets 
• Disbursements are aligned with the investment profile of the company and repayment is aligned with the performance
• It is complementary to venture capital financing

• Biotech & Life sciences
• Software & ICT
• Engineering & Automation
• Energy & Clean tech

• Companies, doing intensive research and development, with innovative products, services or business models
• Companies with substantial equity raised in the past (series B/C) from institutional investors
• Companies with a scalable and sustainable business model, professional management team and established corporate governance
• Companies with fewer than 3000 employees on a consolidated basis

* For the complete counterparty eligibility criteria, please consult the eligibility form here.

• Expenses related to research & development, sales & marketing, capital expenditure, permanent working capital, among others
• Investments located in European Union countries
• Minimum investment plan amount of EUR 15 million over the next 3 to 5 years

• Ticket sizes from € 7.5 to 50 million
• Maximum EIB financing amount up to 50% of the company’s investment plan

• Long maturities of 4 to 6 years after disbursement
• Bullet or amortising repayment

Typically, the pricing has two components:

• Cash interest
• Upside sharing via royalties, warrants or other equity kickers

• Up-front commitment of the full amount with availability period customized to company’s needs
• Disbursements in tranches subject to milestones
• Covenant light
• Unsecured

• EIB quality stamp
• Market visibility
• Limited dilution
• Access to long term capital that reduces pressure for additional equity raises and from the cash flow
• No direct involvement in daily management

• Please fill in the eligibility form, which can be found here, and send it to venturedebt@eib.org.