EU External Investment Plan – Opportunity to present projects open!

Image Source: European Commission

The EU External Investment Plan (EIP) will leverage up to EUR 44 bn in private investments across Africa and the EU Neighbourhood until 2020. The key financial instrument of the EIP is the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSD) – an EU guarantee worth EUR 4.1 bn designed to back up risky investments that otherwise will not happen.

The EIP incorporates 5 investment windows:

• Sustainable energy and connectivity 

• Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) financing 

• Sustainable agriculture, rural entrepreneurs and agribusiness 

• Sustainable cities 

• Digital for development

Now the Commission is inviting eligible counterparts to present investment programmes for each of the windows.

For the windows "Sustainable Energy and Connectivity" and "Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Financing", the proposals should be received by the end of January 2018. For the windows "Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Entrepreneurs and Agribusiness", "Sustainable Cities" and "Digital for Development", the proposals should be received by the end of March 2018.

These eligible counterparts are financial institutions assessed by the Commission, for example development banks. Currently eligible financial institutions include:

• The European Investment Bank (EIB),
• The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD),
• The African Development Bank (AfDB),
• Agence Française de Développement (AFD),
• Casa di Depositi i Prestiti (CDP),
• Compañía Española de Financiación del Desarrollo (COFIDES),
• Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG),
• Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW),
• Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID),
• Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO),
• Promotion et Participation pour la Coopération économique (PROPARCO).

Businesses who want to benefit from the EIP are then encouraged to contact the financial institutions managing the investment windows, to get informed about the available instruments for their project or if they are interested in investing.

For more information about EU funding possibilities in third countries or support for EU business funding strategies please do not hesitate to contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.