EUR 500 million for innovative companies in Germany

Frankfurt am Main (ots) -

- Innovative companies receive even better support in 2016
- Joint initiative of the EU, EIF and KfW for the benefit of
innovative companies
- Assumption of 50% of liability to facilitate lending
- Second project implemented by KfW within the framework of the
EFSI

KfW continues to offer the "Entrepreneur Loan Plus" programme for
innovative companies, which has been running in a pilot phase since 1
December 2014. The KfW Entrepreneur Loan Plus for financing
investment and working capital will be made possible in the future by
the InnovFin SME Guarantee facility of the European Union's Horizon
2020 programme (Framework Programme for Research and Innovation) and
the financing instrument of the "Juncker Plan" (EFSI). The special
feature of this programme is that KfW, the European Investment Fund
(EIF) and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) together
bear 50% of the onlending financial institutions' credit risk, making
it easier for them to lend.

A guarantee volume of EUR 125 million is available for the
Entrepreneur Loan Plus until 2017, which translates into a secured
commitment volume of EUR 500 million. The target group is the same:
Established, innovative SMEs and self-employed professionals receive
particularly affordable financing of up to EUR 7.5 million per
project for investment and working capital. Companies are considered
innovative for the purposes of the programme if they meet at least
one of several criteria, for example if they have registered a patent
in the last 24 months.

"Germany is one of the leading EU Member States for innovation and
I am pleased that it is dedicating more resources to financing
innovative companies. The InnovFin SME Guarantee deal signed today
with the KfW Group will open up new ways of funding innovative
companies to enable them to grow and create jobs", said Carlos
Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation.

"Innovation is a key priority for the EIB Group and this deal
demonstrates our commitment to financing innovative companies. The
Investment Plan for Europe is enabling the EIB Group to boost support
for SMEs and Mid-Caps in need of finance and the KfW continues to be
a crucial partner for us in Germany. By providing risk financing, we
can help to strengthen the role of businesses both in Germany and
across the European Union", said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle.

EIF Chief Executive Pier Luigi Gilibert added: "I am pleased to be
signing the InnovFin SME Guarantee agreement here in Berlin with our
long-term partner KfW for the benefit of German businesses. Under
previous agreements, KfW Group has supported many successful SMEs and
I am convinced that together we can support many more innovative
companies over the next two years."

"Innovation fuels progress and competitiveness. Financing
innovation entails a certain level of intrinsic risk. This risk is
now being spread between the EU, the EIF, the financing partners and
KfW, making it easier and more affordable for bold entrepreneurs to
implement good ideas," stated Dr Ingrid Hengster, member of KfW's
Executive Board.

As of now, interested companies can submit applications to KfW.
The support of the European Union allows the KfW to reduce the
already favourable interest rates on its exposures further. Thus,
interest rates starting at 1.00% will be offered in the best price
category.

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) aims to
overcome the current investment gap in the European Union (EU) by
mobilising private financing for strategic investments which the
market cannot finance alone. The Entrepreneur Loan Plus is the second
programme offered by KfW as part of the EFSI following the extension
of the ERP Start-up Loan - StartGeld programme in September 2015.

Background:

The InnovFin SME Guarantee facility for small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) provides guarantees and counter-guarantees on debt
financing of between EUR 25,000 and EUR 7.5 million, in order to
improve access to loan finance for innovative small and medium-sized
enterprises and small midcaps (up to 499 employees). The facility is
provided by the European Investment Fund, and will be rolled out
through financial intermediaries (banks and other financial
institutions) in EU Member States and Associated Countries. Under the
InnovFin SME Guarantee, financial intermediaries will be guaranteed
by the EIF against a proportion of their losses incurred on the debt
financing.

The InnovFin SME Guarantee is part of InnovFin - EU Finance for
Innovators, the new generation of EU financial instruments and
advisory services to facilitate access to finance for innovative
projects. It is expected to generate investments of about EUR 50
billion in Research and Development across Europe.

The EFSI is promoting strategic investments in infrastructure
projects, as well as the provision of venture capital to small
enterprises. It supports the InnovFin SME Guarantee in order to boost
the volume of investments. More information are available at
http://ots.de/nPjm6.

More information on EU financing offers in Germany can be found at
http://ots.de/gHoLf.

Details on KfW's European commitment are available under
www.kfw.de/europa. Interested companies can find out more about the
Entrepreneur Loan Plus at www.kfw.de/44. There is also our
information centre available to answer any questions you may have
(Tel.: +49 (0)8005399001, local rate when calling from Germany).

Contact:

European Commission:
Siobhán Millbright
+ 32 (0)2 29 57361
siobhan.bright@ec.europa.eu

EIB/EIF
David Yormesor
+35 (0)2 42 66 88 346
d.yormesor@eif.org

Contact:
KfW, Palmengartenstr. 5 - 9, 60325 Frankfurt
Kommunikation (KOM) Sonja Höpfner
Tel. +49 (0)69 7431 4306, Fax: +49 (0)69 7431 3266,
E-Mail: Sonja.Hoepfner@kfw.de, Internet: www.kfw.de