The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Banco Popolare Società Cooperativa (Banco Popolare) signed an InnovFin agreement on 9 April for the benefit of SMEs, supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

Under this agreement, the bank will be able to provide €300 million in loans to 1,500 innovative businesses in Italy.

European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen expressed his satisfaction, stating: "Today's agreement brings more good news for SMEs in Italy: another 1,500 innovative and growing businesses will now be able to access fresh funding totalling €300 million. I once again congratulate the Italian banks on their initiative and for collaborating so effectively with the EIF".

Banco Popolare General Manager, Maurizio Faroni, stated that this agreement: "will be able to finance innovative SMEs up to a total of €300 million. We are proud to be working with the EIF again. Thanks to the first agreement signed with the fund, we were able to finance more than 200 innovative SMEs for a total amount of €200 million”.

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