The European Investment Fund and PKO Leasing S.A. have signed a direct guarantee agreement for Polish SMEs, supported by the Loan Guarantee Facility under the EU’s COSME programme.
The agreement will allow PKO Lesing S.A. to provide SMEs with new leases and loans on favorable terms for a period of two years, until 2020. Approximately 10.000 Polish entrepreneurs, including start-ups, are expected to benefit from the better financing terms. The maximum transaction amount is set at PLN 1.5 million (approximately EUR 350 000).
The current agreement is the largest direct guarantee EIF transaction with a Polish intermediary. “The new COSME agreement is a remarkable success of EIF and PKO Leasing. Polish SMEs will access investment financing on favorable terms that otherwise would not be available. I am convinced that this financing will allow Polish companies to develop their businesses and increase competitiveness. Those are the goals of the COSME programme and of our Strategy for Responsible Development” – commented Jadwiga Emilewicz, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology.
The current agreement is supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe, the Juncker Plan.
Elżbieta Bieńkowska, European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, commented: “I’m excited that thanks to this new agreement and European Investment Fund (EIF) direct guarantees we will be able to support over 10.000 Polish SMEs and provide them with financing worth 1.5 billion PLN. Polish small and medium businesses are competitive and often what they need is just an additional boost to launch new products, expand beyond their local markets and develop their research and innovation capacity. This new EFSI-backed agreement will help them do just that. The Investment Plan for Europe is already expected to provide 43,000 Polish small businesses with better access to this European finance instrument and the new agreement will contribute further to this EU-Polish success story on the ground”.
“The EIF is delivering a range of financing options for Polish SMEs via the Investment Plan for Europe. We are pleased to be announcing this new agreement with PKO Leasing, which will help the company to provide enhanced access to finance to risky SMEs and start-ups,” said Pier Luigi Gilibert EIF Chief Executive.
“We have a long history of cooperation with the European Investment Fund and it has always brought benefits to Polish entrepreneurs. I may assure that these benefits will be offered also under the current COSME agreement, which has the largest portfolio and will serve substantial amount of SMEs in Poland,” commented Andrzej Krzemiński, President of the Management Board of PKO Leasing S.A.
* The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance.
