Investment & Fund Management

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Towarzystwo Inwestycji Spoleczno-Ekonomicznych SA (TISE) entered into a Social Entrepreneurship guarantee agreement aimed at supporting at least 60 social enterprises in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. This initiative was part of the European Commission's EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) and involved a total funding of EUR 8 million. The primary challenge faced by these social entrepreneurs was their difficulty in accessing credit from traditional banking sources, which often left them without the necessary financial support to operate and grow.

To address this issue, the guarantee agreement allowed TISE to provide loans at reduced interest rates to social enterprises operating in sectors such as recruitment, fair trade, and targeted child care. This financial support was designed to ease the burden of collateral requirements, enabling these enterprises to secure funding that would otherwise be unattainable. The initiative not only aimed to enhance access to finance but also sought to promote social inclusion by supporting enterprises that contribute to education, job promotion, and fair trade.

As a result of this collaboration, over 60 social enterprises in Poland were expected to benefit from the preferential loan conditions, significantly improving their financial viability and capacity to serve vulnerable populations. The EaSI Guarantee scheme, launched in June 2015, was instrumental in facilitating this support, allowing financial intermediaries like TISE to reach out to micro-entrepreneurs who would typically be excluded from traditional financing avenues. This initiative exemplifies the EIF's commitment to fostering social entrepreneurship and enhancing access to finance for underserved sectors.