We are EIB Group's specialist provider of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) risk finance across Europe. We are owned by the European Investment Bank (EIB), with which we form the EIB Group, the European Commission and a wide range of public and private banks and financial institutions.

We have an unique shareholding structure as a public-private partnership and benefit from the Multilateral Development Bank status, which enables financial institutions to apply a 0% risk-weighting to assets we guarantee. Typically, we guarantee certain tranches of notes (senior and/or mezzanine tranches) issued through a SME securitisation transaction.

We do not provide finance to SMEs directly but our clients include a wide range of financial institutions, banks and venture capital funds involved in SMEs funding.

• 1994: EIF was founded by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Community, through the European Commission and a number of European public and private financial institutions as a Public Private Partnership. EIF's main objective was to provide financial institutions with infrastructure and guarantee instruments for SME finance.
• 1997:  Beginning of EIF's involvement in venture capital, as part of the European Commission’s "Growth and Employment" initiative.
• 2000: EIF's was restructured and its shareholding structure was modified. EIB became the majority shareholder, culminating in the formation of the EIB Group. EIB’s role as principal shareholder endorsed  EIF’s role as the exclusive vehicle for venture capital of the EIB Group. Since then EIF has continued to provide portfolio guarantees to financial institutions involved in SME finance.