Opening the conference, Vice-President Dombrovskis delivered a speech on the role of the Eurozone in supporting innovation. Commissioner Moedas announced the launch of 4 new initiatives that will provide new financing and support for innovative start-ups in cooperation with the European Investment Fund (EIF) and European Investment Bank (EIB).
The initiatives will provide a €100 million for innovation in the fields of health and energy respectively, and aim to generate up to €1.6 billion in venture funding for innovative SMEs. They will expand the range of existing tools under the InnovFin programme that the EIF already offers together with the European Commission and EIB.
Welcoming the launch of the new tools, Commissioner Moedas said: "Today, we're taking another step to help businesses invest in innovation and make them attractive to private investors. With backing from Horizon 2020, these new tools will focus on an important challenges like health and energy innovation; provide new funding for SMEs and set up an advisory facility for innovative companies. This will help kick-start hundreds of new businesses across Europe, benefitting our society and economy."
Innovative Enterprise Week
