The BCEE or Spuerkeess made the announcement on Thursday that it had joined the programme, which forms part of the European Investment Fund and European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme.

Eligibility criteria is outlined by Innovfin.

“As a shareholder in the EIF and within the BCEE’s framework to provide social and economic development support, the BCEE is particularly proud to announce this partnership with the EIF, which will have the advantage of benefiting innovative SMEs who are clients of the bank,” director general Françoise Thoma said.

The European commissioner for research, science and innovation, Carlos Moedas, added that it was excellent news for innovative SMEs in Luxembourg which “sometimes only need a little financial push to transform their ideas into commercially valuable concrete projects.”

According to a European Commission press release published on Thursday, the InnovFin SME guarantee facility provides guarantees and counter guarantees on debt financing of between €25,000 and €7.5m in order to improve access to loan finance for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and small mid-caps (up to 499 employees).

The facility is managed by EIF, and is rolled out through financial intermediaries banks and other financial institutions in EU member states and associated countries. Under this facility, financial intermediaries are guaranteed by EIF against a proportion of their losses incurred on the debt financing covered under the facility.

The finance is reportedly part of a €190m package from the European Fund for Strategic Investment made available to businesses in Luxembourg via banks.