Progress microfinance : creating opportunities.
Date: 2011-09-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Subjects: business start-up, economic support, loan, micro-enterprise, microfinance, microloan

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Progress  Microfi nance  does  not  directly  fi nance  entrepre-
neurs,  but  enables  microcredit  providers  in  EU  countries  to 
increase lending to them:

•  by  issuing  guarantees  to  microcredit  providers,  thereby 

sharing their potential risk of loss, and 

•  by  providing  funding,  aimed  at  increasing  microcredit 

on-lending volumes.

Progress Microfi nance, supported by the European Commis-
sion and the European Investment Bank, is managed by the 
European Investment Fund. 

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

European Progress Microfi nance Facility:
http://ec.europa.eu/epmf

Social Europe:
http://ec.europa.eu/social

More on EU microcredit initiatives:
http://www.ec.europa.eu/microfi nance 

WANT TO BECOME A MICROCREDIT PROVIDER 
FOR PROGRESS MICROFINANCE?

More information via the European Investment Fund:
http://www.eif.org/progress 

European Commission

Funding

Loans and equity, 
direct guarantees 
or counter-guarantees

Microcredit providers

Microcredit
(below EUR 25 000)

Benefi ciaries

(self-employed and 
micro-entrepreneurs)

© European Union, 2011
Reproduction is authorised provided 
the source is acknowledged.

For any use or reproduction of photos which are not under European 
Union copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copy-
right holder(s).

Printed in Luxembourg
PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER

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Progress 
Microfi nance 

Creating opportunities

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Would you like to start or develop a business, but ﬁ nd 
you are having diﬃ  culties getting a traditional bank 
loan? A microloan from Progress Microﬁ nance might 
be the solution!

The European Progress Microfi nance Facility (Progress Micro-
fi nance)  is  an  EU  initiative.  Its  aim  is  to  make  it  easier  for 
people  who  want  to  start  or  develop  their  own  small  busi-
ness to access credit. 

This  new  initiative  will  enhance  entrepreneurship  and  the  social 
economy in Europe. It will help create jobs and specifi cally aims to help 
vulnerable groups fi nd an alternative route out of unemployment and 
gives more people the chance to realise their visions as entrepreneurs.

László Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, 
Social Aff  airs and Inclusion

WHAT IS PROGRESS MICROFINANCE ABOUT?

Progress  Microfi nance  increases  the  availability  of  micro-
credit, i.e. loans below EUR 25 000 for setting up or further 
developing a small commercial operation, such as a restaur-
ant, transport service, local manufacturing or care service.  

CAN I APPLY?

If you want to become self-employed or set up/further develop 
a microenterprise (i.e. a business with less than 10 employees), 
you can defi nitely apply.

Especially, if you are unemployed, young or older, if you have 
taken time out of the labour market, and if you have diffi  culty 
accessing credit and fi nd it even harder in present times, do 
not hesitate. Progress Microfi nance can be of particular help.

TO WHOM SHOULD I TURN?

Microcredit is accessible in the European Union via selected 
microcredit  providers  that  include  private  or  public  banks, 
non-bank microfi nance institutions and not-for-profi t micro-
credit providers.

The conditions for the provision of the microloan, such as its 
amount, its duration and the rate of interest, are determined 
by these microcredit providers.

HOW CAN I APPLY?

Find out whether there is already such a microcredit provider 
in  your  country  at  http://www.ec.europa.eu/epmf  and  send 
them your application for a microloan directly.

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GEL  Dome  Ltd  started  up  in 
Bulgaria  at  the  end  of  2010, 
and  Grigor,  its  manager,  is  just 
28 years old. 

The  company  is  working  on  an  innovative  project  — 
houses  built  in  harmony  with  the  advantages  of  wind, 
sun and water. It manufactures wooden structures (small 
restaurants  and  houses)  mainly  for  the  local  tourist 
industry. The materials used are natural and free of most 
chemical additives.

Thanks to a microloan of EUR 3 000 with a one-year term 
from  Mikrofond  AD,  a  Bulgarian  microcredit  provider 
participating in Progress Microfi nance, Grigor was able to 
repair his workshop and develop the company’s website.

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food  products.  She  did 

After  seven  years  of  informal 
work,  Onorx’s  dream  was  to 
start  her  own  business,  selling 
exotic 
not  have  enough  money  to  cover  all 
starting expenses and to pay for her stock as well. She 
was  approached  by  microStart,  a  Belgian  microcredit 
provider  participating  in  Progress  Microfi nance,  and 
eventually  received  a  microloan  of  EUR  3 000,  which 
allowed  her  to  buy  her  initial  stock  and  have  some 
cash  in  advance.  microStart  also  provided  counsel-
ling  and  mentoring  to  accompany  the  early  stages  of 
her venture. If everything goes well with her business, 
microStart could envisage renewing her microloan.

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Through Qredits, a Dutch micro-
credit  provider  participating  in 
Progress  Microfi nance,  Monique 
was  able  to  create  a  new  Dutch 
brand  for  fashionable  bags  and  lifestyle 
accessories, named Zacc. Without their EUR 8 000 start-up 
loan, her ambition to start her own company would still be 
just a dream. She started the company from home and is 
happy to be working again. Zacc represents a new look, 
in  which  wool  and  other  natural  materials  are  the  main 
features. Every Zacc bag is unique.