Today at the Global Gateway Forum, the European Commission and European Development Finance Institutions announced three new guarantee agreements to mobilise private finance for development. The guarantees aim to strengthen value chains across various sectors, expand access to renewable energy, and unlock private equity financing, providing financial coverage for a total amount of €742 million. They are part of the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+), one of the financing tools of Global Gateway, promoting sustainable investments in partner countries. 

Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, said: “These new guarantees signed today by the EU and the EDFI, as Team Europe, will help mobilise investment in renewable energy projects and new value chains in our partner countries. This is the core principle of Global Gateway: de-risking investment to create jobs, boost local businesses, and strengthen resilience.”

Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, stated: “Very pleased to sign a new guarantee agreements with EDFI today. The contribution of all European Development Finance Institutions is the best expression of working in a Team Europe spirit and will contribute to deliver Global Gateway investment in the Mediterranean. We look forward to see these agreements translated into concrete investments, particularly in supporting local value chains and partnerships with European industries.”

Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, commented: “Today’s signature is a call to invest: in railways, in energy corridors, in digital networks. Our neighbourhood is changing. Our partners seek to reduce dependencies. For the first time in generations, new trade routes from Europe to Central Asia are opening. This can be an economic win-win for all.” 

The first guarantee is for the Transforming Global Value Chains programme. The EU will guarantee up to €194 million for investments in developing local value chains and fostering local value creation across agribusiness, health, manufacturing, and processing in sectors such as digital, logistics or textiles. 

With the second guarantee for the Renewable Energy Transition programme, the EU will support investments in renewable energy projects. The €332 million guarantee will back initiatives in on- and off-grid power generation, transmission and distribution, as well as energy storage. 

The third guarantee, the Liquidity Platform for Impact, supported by the EU with €216 million, will facilitate flows of new investments in partner countries by creating a secondary financial market. Attracting early-stage financing remains one of the biggest challenges for European investors in our partner countries, and this mechanism aims to help overcome that barrier.

All these new guarantees build on the existing programmes with EDFI MC, increasing the total guarantee capacity to €1.6 billion - providing EDFI and its members with a versatile investment toolkit.

The signing ceremony brought together high-level representatives: European Commissioners Jozef Síkela, Dubravka Šuica and Marta Kos, the General Manager of European Development Finance Institutions David Kuijper and representatives of three Development Finance Institutions  that are the main users of the guarantee – Michael Jongeneel of FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank; Roland Siller, CEO of DEG, the German private sector investment corporation; and Jean-Baptiste Sabatie, Deputy CEO of Proparco, the private sector development bank of the French AFD Group.

Source: EU Commission