On Tuesday, The European Investment Bank (EIB), in collaboration with Rabobank announced their commitment to scale up their support towards environmentally conscious businesses through €300M investment.
With this new fund, they will support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are working at the forefront of sustainable development.
In the last nine years, Rabobank, with the EIB, has provided over €1.8B to more than 1,000 SMEs for sustainable projects. In 2023, Notably, in 2023, EIB and Rabobank made €1B available in favourable lending for Dutch small businesses and mid-caps.
The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. The Netherlands holds 5.2 per cent of the shares.
Over the past decade, the EIB has lent more than €27B to support Dutch projects in a variety of sectors, including research and development, sustainable mobility, clean water, healthcare, and SMEs.
EIB Vice-President Robert de Groot says, “Achieving our climate goals requires a concerted effort, and the sustainability of SMEs plays a crucial role. The EIB maintains a positive relationship with Rabobank – having already agreed to the ninth impact loan for sustainable companies – and thus demonstrates that green activities are also economically attractive.”
Who can apply?
This new €300M finance contract will give sustainability leaders with specific labels access to the Rabo Impactlening instrument.
This means they can get an interest rate reduction of up to 0.65 per cent.
To apply for an impact loan, companies must meet the usual conditions required by Rabobank and the EIB.
The Rabo Impactlening loan is available for businesses with up to 3,000 employees.
The total investment for a project cannot exceed €25M, and the maximum loan amount is €7.5M.
Rabobank is responsible for the final loan approval decision.
“NL Retail Director at Rabobank Carlo van Kemenade says, “We are noticing a considerable increase in demand for sustainable financing. Successful companies do not only aim for financial return but are also increasingly conscious of their environmental and social impact. As such, they play a key role in the transition and in helping to prepare the economy for the future, and, as a bank, we are pleased to support their ambitions in this regard. Rabobank is therefore proud to continue its successful partnership with the EIB.”
Since 2015, environmentally conscious companies have benefited from favourable lending conditions thanks to EIB-supported impact loans provided under Rabo Impactlening.
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