EIB supports SMEs in Austria | WPN World People News

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a €100 million global loan to Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich (RLB OÖ). “We want to use these funds to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) invest, focusing particularly on climate action and innovation projects and on sustainability. Despite the current COVID-19 situation, we must not lose sight of the future – sustainability is therefore playing an increasingly important role for us,” said Heinrich Schaller, CEO of RLB OÖ. A portion of the funds will also go towards promoting investments in companies with female leaders. The idea behind this comes from an EU pilot project in the banking sector that aims to enhance women’s participation in management.

“Supporting SMEs is one of the EU bank’s priorities. These are the businesses that create jobs and that drive the economy. In the challenging economic environment we find ourselves in today, it is vitally important that we give SMEs access to fresh funding,” said Andrew McDowell, the EIB Vice-President responsible for Austria. “The EU bank has worked closely with RLB OÖ for many years. As the EU’s climate bank, we very much welcome this opportunity to strengthen our partnership while focusing on climate action projects.”

“We also hope that through this collaboration, we can help enhance the role of women in Austrian SMEs.” This €100 million loan comes on top of several other agreements concluded between RLB OÖ and the EIB in the past.

source: European Investment Bank