The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Banca Popolare Sant’Angelo (BPSA) have signed a microfinance guarantee agreement in Italy under the EU Program for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI).

This new financing agreement was made possible by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the core of the Investment Plan for Europe. This new guarantee agreement allows BPSA to provide EUR 10 million in loans to 650 micro-entrepreneurs over the next 5 years in Italy. Micro-entrepreneurs will be able to benefit from loans at a reduced interest rate with lower collateral. Among the entrepreneurs, BPSA will primarily target female, youth start-ups.

The European Commission's Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) aims at supporting the EU's objective of high-level employment, adequate social protection, fighting against social exclusion and poverty and improving working conditions. The microfinance and social entrepreneurship axis of the EaSI programme provides support to financial intermediaries that offer microloans to entrepreneurs or finance to social enterprises.

The European Commission has selected EIF to implement the EaSI Guarantee. EIF implements the facility through local financial intermediaries, such as microfinance, social finance and guarantee institutions, as well as banks active across the EU-28 and additional countries that are participating in the EaSI programme.