Investing in French companies is the main purpose of Bpifrance since its creation. Since the crisis of COVID-19, the French public investment bank increased its support. EIB Group’s action is diverse, but it will mainly focus on financing the ecological transition of mid-caps, the financing of innovation and La French Touch, and the support to new segments such as La French Fab.

In 2021, in order to implement tools and financing solutions adapted to companies impacted by the crisis of Covid-19, seven new agreements have been added in the framework of the Investment plan for Europe (also known as the Juncker plan) and the Pan European Guarantee Fund. Based on these agreements, the European Investment Fund (EIF) will renew the guarantees provided to Bpifrance on several of its financial instruments for innovation, creation and culture. In 2022, this will mobilize:

• €1.2 billion in loans for startups, investment seeds, for innovation and to finance SMEs and small mid-caps in all stages of development.
• €100 million in « touch loans » for companies in the cultural and creative sectors.

In addition, Bpifrance and the EIB Group wish to contribute to the financing of industrial projects and the ecological and energy transition of companies to the tune of €575 million:

• In 2022 Bpifrance, with the support of the EIF, will deploy €200 million of « SME industry loans » to cover for the projects of 200 companies that wish to increase their industrial production capacity, thanks to financing from €500,000 up to €2 million.
• Bpifrance and EIB have also signed an agreement that will allow The French public investment bank to mobilize €375 million in additional loans for mid-caps that have begun their ecological transition or which solutions that facilitate the ecological transition of companies.

“Bpifrance at the heart of the European recovery plan of France”

The EIF will guarantee up to €1.4 billion of “Advances + Pre-financing” providing SMEs with the liquidity needed to launch public or private contracts from which they take advantage. This offer complements the agreement with the EIB for a €1 billion package of similar short term financing for mid-caps, announced last May. It facilitates the financing of SMEs and mid-caps for amounts ranging from €100 000 to €50 million for a maximum term of 24 months.

These guarantee agreements on Bpifrance loans come in addition to the cooperation in equity and quasi-equity of the three institutions, which includes the EIB’s subscription announced last May to the France Investissement Tourisme 2 fund (FIT2) launched in 2020 by Bpifrance and endowed with nearly €190 million to support and assist tourism operators negatively impacted by the health crisis.

Nicolas Dufourcq, CEO of Bpifrance hailed these new collaborations that « place Bpifrance at the heart of the European recovery plan for France. The amount of agreements signed in 2021, equivalent to the aggregate for the previous seven years, is commensurate with the challenges facing our economy. The EIB Group’s backing enables us to meet the short-term needs of French businesses and also supports Bpifrance’s strategic priorities, particularly in terms of the triptych of La French “Fab, Touch and Tech” and the Green community symbolizing the industry of the future.”