- The EIF has signed guarantee agreements with the three institutions to make it easier for Spanish micro and social entrepreneurs to access finance.
- The EIF investment will mobilise approximately €12 million to enable these firms to access finance more easily.
- The operation is backed by InvestEU, an EU programme that aims to unlock over €372 billion in investment by 2027.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) has signed guarantee agreements with Soria Futuro, Treball Solidari and Fundació Seira to make it easier for micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs in the Spanish social sector to access finance.
The EIF guarantee will enable these organisations to mobilise up to €12 million for the Spanish social sector and bring down the barriers that traditionally make it more difficult for micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs active in this domain to access finance.
The up to €2 million EIF guarantee signed with Soria Futuro will help grant loans to socially focused firms, with an emphasis on the province of Soria and in areas such as sustainability, innovation and technological development, with the goal of revitalising one of the most depopulated parts of Spain.
An EIF guarantee worth up to €3.3 million was signed with Fundación Seira to make it easier to access financing for the social and cooperative economy in Catalonia.
Lastly, the EIF signed a guarantee of up to €5 million with Treball Solidari to help provide micro-financing to projects led by women entrepreneurs who are also immigrants, with a focus on the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Madrid.
The signing ceremony in Madrid was attended by EIF Chief Investment Officer Marco Marrone, Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment Jaime Durán, Soria Futuro Director Sergio Cabrerizo, Antonio Sierra Rincón from Treball Solidari and Laia Bonastra Arguello from Fundació Seira.
“These agreements further strengthen the EIF’s commitment to the Spanish social sector, facilitating access to finance for micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs whose main objective is to help make a better world,” said EIF Chief Investment Officer Marco Marrone. “This partnership with Soria Futuro, Treball Solidari and Fundación Seira will enable EIF investment to reach the places where it can have the greatest impact and where Spain’s social sector needs support.”
“This agreement provides a major boost to Soria Futuro, making it possible to exponentially increase the economic and social impact we generate in the province of Soria,” said Soria Futuro Director Sergio Cabrerizo.
Treball Solidari President Antoni Sierra Rincón said: “For us it is recognition of all the great work the programme has done over the last 14 years and the start of a new phase where we hope to be able to serve many more vulnerable people across the country.”
Laia Bonastra, president of Fundación Seira, commented: “Two and a half years ago when we created a non-speculative investment vehicle to promote cooperativism, we knew how difficult it would be to consolidate the project, but thanks to this guarantee it will allow us to promote this dream that seemed impossible”.
These EIF guarantees are backed by InvestEU, an EU programme that aims to unlock over €372 billion in investment by 2027.
Background information
About the EIF
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group). Its central mission is to support Europe’s microenterprises and SMEs by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, it contributes to the achievement of key EU policy goals such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability.
In Spain, the EIB Group – which includes both the EIF and the European Investment Bank (EIB) – signed €12.3 billion of new financing for more than 100 high-impact projects in 2024, helping power the country’s green and digital transition and promote economic growth, competitiveness and better services for its people.
About InvestEU
The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investment for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that invest in projects, leveraging on the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increasing their risk-bearing capacity and mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.
About Treball Solidari
Founded in the year 2000, Treball Solidari is a non-governmental development organisation whose main goal is to promote human development through work. Based in Palma, in recent years it has been expanding its delegations in Menorca, Eivissa, Barcelona, Cantabria, Madrid, Valladolid and Valencia. Its lines of action focus on international cooperation and education for development, as well as job placement programmes for vulnerable individuals in Spain via initiatives such as CONFÍA (to promote self-employment for women) and COMBINA (to facilitate and guide job placement and career orientation). It also supports entrepreneurs and those wishing to return to their place of origin with RETORNO VOLUNTARIO.
About Fundació Seira
Fundació Seira is a benchmark in social and cooperative financing in Catalonia. It was founded in 2008 with the main goal of supporting and promoting cooperatives, particularly worker cooperatives. Seira is the investment vehicle of Federación de Cooperativa de Trabajo de Cataluña, and is a premier patient and sustainable financing solution, designed to consolidate social and cooperative economy entities. Seira helps build trust between financial institutions and cooperatives using a range of practical tools and training possibilities tailored to their needs. Since its inception, Seira Inversió Social has invested in 28 social and cooperative economy projects, disbursing a total of €2 348 411. Over the last year, it has provided financial guidance to 122 entities, obtaining more than €12.5 million in financing.
About Soria Futuro
Soria Futuro, S.A. is an investment company formed in 2002 and currently owned by Caja Rural de Soria, Instituto para la Competitividad Empresarial de Castilla y León and the Provincial Council of Soria. Its main goal is to boost economic and social development in Soria by backing business projects in the province with investment via financial instruments such as participatory loans and/or temporary equity stakes. It also offers an exhaustive hands-on support for the projects receiving investment. Soria Futuro operates as an evergreen vehicle and has successfully created a balanced and stable business model achieving an adequate equilibrium between social and economic impact. Since its launch, the investment vehicle has invested in dozens of firms in Soria, unlocking investment of around €90 million in the region and creating over 900 jobs (equivalent to more than 2% of the active population of Soria). Its accounting equity at the end of 2024 was 1.57 times higher than its share capital thanks to the active management of its resources. The company’s main sectors of investment are the energy transition, health, agri-food and forestry. The InvestEU programme is expected to mobilise direct investment of €2 million, unlocking investment of an estimated €9 million and creating and/or safeguarding 160 jobs in the region.
