The InvestEU Investment Committee approved a new guarantee, bringing the total of operations financed by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and backed by InvestEU to five. With this, the overall amount of the InvestEU guarantee approved for CEB projects has reached €80 million.

The CEB projects are expected to mobilise €252.5 million in financing for affordable social housing, education and training, as well as microfinance and social enterprise finance sectors. These five operations benefit from the InvestEU guarantee agreement that the European Commission and the CEB signed in November 2022.

Among the five operations, there is a framework that will make €100 million in CEB financing backed by the InvestEU programme available to provide microfinance and support social economy organisations across the entire European Union.

The other four supported projects are:

• “Social Finance” (Ireland): The latest approved CEB operation will benefit the Social Finance Foundation (SFF) in Ireland, by providing €20 million InvestEU-backed financing for community and voluntary organisations and social enterprises, mainly located in rural areas. Established in 2007 by the Irish Government, SFF relies on a unique funding model to mobilise public and private funding for the benefit of the social good.
• “Education and integration of young people” (France): Fondation Apprentis d'Auteuil will use €13.5 million in CEB financing backed by the InvestEU programme for the renovation and expansion of its Saint-Philippe education campus in Meudon, in the Hauts-de-Seine region, to upgrade it to modern safety, accessibility, energy-efficiency and functionality standards. The Foundation provides social assistance and child protection services in France.
• “Social and affordable housing” (Spain):  Institut Català de Finances will use €100 million in CEB financing backed by the InvestEU programme for the acquisition and construction of affordable social housing with a focus on low-income, socially vulnerable people including migrants, persons who are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness, and victims of domestic and gender-based violence.
• “Social work education and training” (Spain): In addition, €19 million in CEB/InvestEU-backed financing will enable Fundació Pere Tarrés to provide quality education and training for social workers and disadvantaged children and youth through the construction of a new building in Barcelona.