The European Investment Fund invests in Creas Impacto and Ship2B

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  EIF is investing EUR 10 million into Creas Impacto, the first institutional social impact fund in Spain, to support early and late stage social enterprises.

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  EIF is also investing EUR 3 million into Equity4Good, managed by Ship2B, a Spanish foundation accelerating social enterprises with high social and/or environmental impact

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has signed a EUR 10 million investment into the Creas Impacto fund and a EUR 3 million investment into Equity4Good, managed by Ship2B, to support seed, early and late stage social enterprises in Spain.

The co-investment agreement was supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). The EFSI is the central pillar of the European Commission's Investment Plan for Europe, the so-called "Juncker Plan".

EIF’s investment into the EUR 30 million Creas Impacto fund will target SMEs in the health and wellbeing, environmental sustainability, education and social innovation sectors. The first-time team supported under the EIF’s Social Impact Accelerator programme (SIA) will be the first institutional Spanish impact investing fund in the country. Creas Impacto will invest in 15 early and late stage social enterprises, with tickets from EUR 0,5 to 3 million. Creas is a hands-on investor, not only by being a board member of the companies, but by acting as a sparring partner supporting entrepreneurs in financial, managerial and strategic decisions, while enhancing their impact measurement systems.

Equity4Good is managed by Fundación Ship2B (Ship2B), a Spanish foundation based in Barcelona that has the support of the European Commission and which accelerates social enterprises with high social and/or environmental impact. Ship2B's acceleration program consists of sector specific labs (health, environment and inclusion) run in collaboration with corporates including DKV, Aigües de Barcelona, Medichem and Esteve. With this agreement, Equity4Good reaches EUR 4 million. Ship2B will support approximately 30 companies, spanning from micro-seed tickets of EUR 40k to maximum tickets of EUR 100k with additional follow-ons up to EUR 400k, representing on average a stake of 5% of the portfolio companies' share capital.

Speaking at the launch event in Barcelona, EIF Deputy-Director, Uli Grabenwarter, commented: “EIF's commitment to co-invest with Equity4Good and Creas Impacto would back pioneer teams providing not only acceleration but also capital to seed, early and late stage companies, contributing to a stronger ecosystem in Spain. The collaboration model between the EIF and Ship2B and Creas could become a reference for peers in the acceleration sector in Europe as a way to find sustainable business models for the social entrepreneurship sector.”

Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen said: "These two agreements, one of them supported by the Juncker Plan, will foster the development of social enterprises which play a crucial role in our economy’s future. I strongly believe that support from public and private partners as well as a committed network of investors is key for start-ups to grow successfully, reach their target markets and fully realize their social mission. The Commission has supported the early stages of both these initiatives through grants under the Employment and Social Innovation programme which helped them reach investment grade in their respective fields. I congratulate both Fundación Ship2B and Creas Impacto."

Luis Berruete, Creas Impacto’s CEO said: "As a reference investor in impact investing, the EIF’s investment has played an essential role in driving and encouraging other impact investors to join Creas Impacto. This has definitely contributed to strengthen the impact investment ecosystem in Spain.”

Commenting on the operation, Xavier Pont, Ship2B’s CEO said: "This agreement is one of the best we have closed since Ship2B’s inception. It will help us to develop our mission which is to promote start-ups with a triple bottom-line (economic, social and environmental) in areas such as health, environment or inclusion".

About EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. More information on EIF's work under EFSI is available here.

About Creas Impacto

Creas Impacto is the first institutional social impact fund in Spain with a first closing in EUR 16 million and a total target fund size of EUR 30 million to invest in 15 growth companies with positive social impact embedded in their business models. With 10 years of experience, Creas was the impact investment pioneer in Spain and nowadays the investor of reference in this market. Creas team is a hands-on investor, providing not only financing but also access to their first-class network and active management support.

About Equity4Good

Equity4Good, a Spanish limited company formed by a group of private investors and managed by Ship2B and invested in by the European Investment Fund (EIF), has EUR 4 million to invest in start-ups with a triple bottom line: economic, social and environmental. The company has already incorporated into its portfolio the following startups: Boolino, Dental Residency, Ciclogreen, Adan Medical, Neki and Qida.

About the Juncker Plan

The Investment Plan for Europe (the Juncker Plan) focuses on removing obstacles to investment, increasing the visibility of investment projects while providing them with technical assistance, and making smarter use of new and existing financial resources. By November 2018, the Investment Plan had already mobilised EUR 360 billion of investment across Europe, including almost EUR 46 billion in Spain and supported 850,000 small and medium businesses.

About SIA

The Social Impact Accelerator (SIA) is a EUR 243 million pan-European public-private partnership addressing the growing need for availability of equity finance to support social enterprises. SIA is a first step in the EIB Group’s (European Investment Bank and EIF) strategy to pioneer the impact investing space and respond to the wider EU policy aim of establishing a sustainable funding market for social entrepreneurship in Europe.