La Reunion, France: Regional Investment Assistance Fund for Businesses

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. The instrument essentially concerns the funding of tangible investments or acquisition of business assets and shares. Funding of Working Capital Requirements / Working Capital Requirements resulting from investments are possible, but non-priority. When each funding is agreed, special attention is paid to thematic objectives, such as ecological and environmental transition (at least 30% of each funding shall be devoted to this issue), Corporate Social Responsibility, digitalisation of SMEs, financing the Social and Solidarity Economy. The operation is a result of an active collaboration between public and private partners : the Région Réunion, as a local authority in charge of economic development, but also acting as a managing authority for ERDF, the European Investment Bank / European Investment Fund to manage the fund of participation, as a trusted financial partner, and the 3 financial intermediaries (BFC-OI, CEPAC, BRED) chosen by a public call for expression of interest.