CaixaBank signs €250M agreement to support female entrepreneurs

CaixaBank and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a 250 million euro agreement in order to give support to “innovative projects led by female entrepreneurs.”

Thanks to this agreement, women will be able to access credit more easily for their businesses until September 2019. The initiative is part of the so-called Juncker investment plan of the European Commission.

The minimum credit available is set at 25,000 euros, while the maximum is 7.5 million euros. The idea behind it is to help small and medium enterprises headed by women to focus on innovative projects.

The agreement was signed under the InnoFint Guarantee for small and medium enterprises, a programme launched by the European Commission in 2014 that allows the European Investment Fund (of which the EIB is a subsidiary) to increase funding for companies to promote research, development, and innovation.

It was made possible by the European Fund for Strategic  Investments (EFSI,) which is the central pillar of the Juncker plan, allowing the financing of more projects with higher risk profiles.

This is the second agreement between the CaixaBank and European Investment Fund. The Catalan bank was one of the first intermediaries to participate in the so-called SME initiative (for small and medium businesses.)

The European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, said: "With this investment, the European Union demonstrates its commitment, not only in supporting research but also in entrepreneurial women."