A bank guarantee by the European Investment Fund (EIF) will allow Belgian microfinance institution MicroStrart to provide €30 million in credit to micro businesses in Belgium, the European Commission announced on Friday.
The agreement, supported by the European Union’s InvestEU programme, should allow more than 3,000 Belgian microenterprises to obtain financing on better terms (soft loans), according to the EU executive.
MicroStart is the largest microfinance lender in Belgium and serves hundreds of small businesses each year. It has been supported by the EIF since its creation in 2010. Microfinance is a banking service provided to low-income individuals or groups who otherwise would not have access to loans. MicroStart was founded in September 2010 was founded by Adie, a French microfinance pioneer, and BNP Paribas Fortis.
“Belgium is a country of family businesses and as a social impact organisation, microStart helps the weakest entrepreneurs to set up their businesses,” microStart CEO Guido Busseniers was quoted as saying in a statement. “Since we launched, we have helped over 9 000 entrepreneurs and provided more than 5 000 loans. This would not be possible without the EIF guarantee.”
