WIREDGOV

The European Investment Bank Group (EIB) through the European Investment Fund (EIF) has joined forces with the Lendix platform to increase crowdlending for European businesses via a joint investment fund backed to the tune of EUR 18.5m by the EIB Group. The announcement was made on Monday 3 July 2017 at Lendix's offices in Paris in the presence of Bruno Le Maire, France's Minister for the Economy and Finance, Ambroise Fayolle, EIB Vice-President, Olivier Goy, CEO and founder of Lendix, and directors of micro-enterprises and SMEs that have obtained financing and who came to share their experience.

This is a particularly innovative crowdlending initiative that is consistent with the priority action of the French Government and the European Union to support businesses. It was welcomed by the Minister for the Economy and Finance:

“The signature of this project sends out a strong signal: through the EIB Group, the European Union is active in France, helping to finance innovative, promising projects. We are committed to our entrepreneurs. The French sector of excellence of Fintechs and start-ups, of which Lendix is one of numerous examples, will multiply its impact thanks to EU capital. It is the very symbol of Europe investing in its future.”

Thanks to the EIB Group’s participation, the joint investment fund associated with the Lendix lending platform now has a capacity of EUR 90m: it will be entirely dedicated to the financing and development of French, Spanish and Italian SMEs, with the dual advantage of facilitating effective and successful crowdlending for retail investors as well as business leaders and project promoters looking for finance. This new capital will supplement loans advanced by retail investors from France, Spain and Italy. This EU support aims to attract other investors and expand the range of financing offered by the Lendix platform.

At the event EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said: “This is a new and very promising source of financing for SMEs and project promoters in Europe. One of the key priorities of the EIB Group is to support investors and businesses in their development projects as they promote growth and employment. We are delighted to be the EU partner of a leading Fintech such as the Lendix platform and to help develop crowdlending. I hope that lots of investors join us to raise new finance in support of businesses."

“We are thrilled to welcome the EIB Group on board as a lender to Lendix. In addition to retail and institutional investors, we are now seeing top-ranking public institutions join us in support of the real economy”, said Olivier Goy, CEO and founder of Lendix.

After a little over two years of activity, Lendix, an SME lending platform in continental Europe, has helped raise EUR 95m in loans to French, Spanish and Italian SMEs thanks, on the one hand, to retail investors and, on the other, to top-ranking investors such as Bpifrance, CNP Assurances, Groupama, Zencap AM (OFI Group), Matmut and the “Prêtons Ensemble” (Lending Together) fund managed by Eiffel Investment Group [1].

As drivers of growth and jobs, SMEs and micro-enterprises are a priority for the EIB Group, which provides them with a range of diverse tools to facilitate their access to finance and thus support their development strategy. In 2016, EUR 5.5bn of investments – accounting for 70% of the EIB Group’s activity – were dedicated to businesses. Thanks to the EIF’s finance, more than 37 000 businesses have been supported in France, helping to create or preserve 15 000 jobs.

[1] sponsored by Aviva France, AG2R La Mondiale, MGEN and Klesia

Anne-Cécile Auguin

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