Release date: 11 February 2022
Promoter – Financial Intermediary
ALMA GROWTH PARTNERS GP SARL,ALMA I ADVISORY LTDLocation
Description
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.
Additionality and Impact
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.
Objectives
The EIB investment aims to provide financing for growing and innovative SMEs and support their recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.
Sector(s)
- Services - Financial and insurance activities
Proposed EIB finance (Approximate amount)
EUR 35 million
Total cost (Approximate amount)
EUR 64 million
Environmental aspects
Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.
Procurement
Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.
Status
Signed - 22/12/2021
Disclaimer
Before financing approval by the Board of Directors, and before loan signature, projects are under appraisal and negotiation. The information and data provided on this page are therefore indicative.
They are provided for transparency purposes only and cannot be considered to represent official EIB policy (see also the Explanatory notes).