FRENCH REGIONS SME PROGRAMME

Programme for funding equity, quasi-equity and debt financial instruments principally supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in several French regions. The programme leverages regional European structural and investment funds (ESIF) and/or contributions from regional or national authorities. It is deployed through dedicated investment vehicles (principally investment funds) managed by commercially-oriented/private sector firms.

To better support enterprises and entrepreneurial projects on their territories and address severe market gaps, several French regions are in the process of structuring funding vehicles as holding funds (or funds of funds) to be invested across a number of financial instruments focusing on SMEs (including, in some cases, micro-enterprises, social enterprises and start-ups) and, albeit marginally, mid-sized companies. Under this programme, the regions' initiatives targeting SMEs will benefit from EIB co-financing; the Bank would provide a co-financing facility. In addition to providing funding under attractive conditions, the EIB's participation in the proposed funding vehicles will enable SMEs, especially those in the early stages of their development, to access long-term funding. The programme's final beneficiaries will be French SMEs and mid-caps and the benefits will be measured in jobs created, businesses started, consolidated or sustained, leverage towards other sources of funding, support to ecosystems of industrial expertise etc.

In accordance with the Bank's policy to ensure that sub-loans comply with the EU acquis in the field of environment, the Bank will require that intermediary institutions in charge of setting up and deploying the financial instruments take all the requisite measures to ensure that environmental procedures carried out at their level, or by the final beneficiaries by the SMEs receiving the Bank's support, comply with relevant EU legislation and applicable national legislation.

In accordance with the Bank's policy to ensure that sub-operations comply with the EU acquis in the field of public procurement, the Bank will require that intermediary institutions in charge of setting up and deploying the financial instruments take all the requisite measures to ensure that procurement procedures carried out at their level, or by the final beneficiaries receiving the Bank's support, comply with relevant EU legislation and applicable national legislation.