France

The mobilisation of 8 millions € from ERDF funds and 12 millions € as national counterpart insured the realisation of 129 SMEs’ projects co-mobilizing 100 millions € of traditional bank loans insuring an amount of investment of 130 millions €.

A funding strategy based on a Fund of Participation and a risk share. The instrument is working as a classical bank loan (not a grant) with all the contractual obligations linked, but with preferential terms (lower interest rates and guarantees). Average loans are less than 7 years (although longer-term loans are possible but stay exceptional and need to be justified) with less than 250 000 € of funding.

Since 2010, the Occitanie Region has been significantly mobilising its own financial resources alongside European funds under its responsibility (ERDF, EAFRD) to act in three areas of intervention: bank loan guarantees, innovation honour loans, and equity investment funds.​