The Institution for Growth in Greece will start financing small and medium-sized enterprises in June with €200 million provided by the Greek state and Germany’s KfW. Development & Competitiveness Minister Costis Hatzidakis and KfW executive vice-president Dr Lutz-Christian Funke on signed an agreement, on April 23, on the German development bank's participation in the financing of a Greek investment fund, the Institution for Growth (IfG) in Greece.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras was present during the signing ceremony, and commenting on the new fund’s activity, he stressed the significance of KfW’s participation, saying the German development bank will operate “as a catalyst to attract capital from private investors, too.”

The signature of the agreement opens the way for the fund as a legal entity to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), within the next 20 days. This will provide capital to Greek banks to finance SMEs on favourable terms. It will also provide capital support to SMEs by participating in their share capital and finance infrastructure projects not covered by the European Investment Bank programmes.

More information PM Meets with German Finance Minister; See also: Greek EU Presidency Informal Meeting of Ministers for Cohesion Policy