Over €600 Million Reached Romanian SMEs Through InvestEU Guarantee Funded by the NRRP

Since 2023, around 2,000 Romanian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have received a total of €610 million in funding to support competitiveness, business development and expansion, the creation of sustainable products and services, renewable energy investments, and energy efficiency improvements.   This financing was made possible through Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), which established a dedicated Romania compartment within the InvestEU programme. Under this framework, the Romanian authorities appointed the European Investment Fund (EIF) to manage a direct guarantee scheme for financial intermediaries, helping them extend credit to Romanian businesses.   Currently, loans are being offered through the following financial institutions: Banca Comerciala Romana, Banca Transilvania, CEC Bank, Raiffeisen Bank, ProCredit Bank, UniCredit Bank, Alpha Bank, Libra Internet Bank, BRD Groupe Société Générale, Patria Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo Bank, and Garanti BBVA. These 12 banks have provided loans averaging €300,000 per beneficiary. The programme remains active and will continue supporting bank financing for SMEs—and in certain cases, individuals—within the available budget.   The InvestEU Guarantee enables EIF partner banks to offer improved financing conditions, such as lower interest rates, reduced collateral requirements, and smaller upfront payments for investment loans. This mechanism allows for longer loan tenures and higher financing volumes, while also supporting borrower categories—such as startups or non-bankable SMEs—that would otherwise face difficulty accessing credit.   This uncapped direct guarantee scheme is part of the Romania compartment’s €672 million InvestEU portfolio, structured around two pillars: Sustainability Guarantee, aimed at supporting the green transition by financing environmentally friendly, inclusive investments; SME Competitiveness Guarantee, designed to broaden access to financing for a wider range of companies and industries, offering terms that would typically be unavailable without the guarantee.   “The InvestEU Guarantee reflects a strong partnership between the Romanian Government, the European Commission, the EIF, and the local banking sector, enhancing SMEs’ access to advantageous financing,” said Dragos Pislaru, Romania’s Minister of Investments and European Projects.   “We already have valuable experience through the SME Initiative launched in 2016, which laid the foundation for the effective implementation of InvestEU guarantees under the NRRP starting in 2023. This instrument directly contributes to strengthening SME competitiveness and smart use of EU funds, generating a multiplier effect—the financing granted is about 3.5 times higher than the allocated budget. Given the strong demand from the business sector, we are currently assessing the possibility of expanding the NRRP budget to further support Romania’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.”