Invest to include is now within reach. The president of the Board, Giampietro Pizzo stated: “Microfinance Institutions are challenged to expand. Numerous people in Europe need to be reached by them in order to fully participate in society. MicroEurope offers them this chance. Banco Etica, Seed Capital Bizkaia and Phitrust have expressed their support. We offer especially private social investors a new opportunity to invest their money in a new way”

MicroEurope was created with a strong desire to combine the best practices of some countries with the high potential of others. During the first year of operation, MicroEurope has refined its business model and executed its first investment. In its journey to promote inclusive finance, MicroEurope invested in Instant Factoring, the developer of a fintech platform that offers instant digital financing solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises. Instant Factoring provides businesses with fast access to liquidity through invoice financing, enabling micro, small and medium enterprises to develop and accelerate their growth. Romania has an important network of financial institutions, which have grown a lot in recent years but can still grow by paying attention not only to financial but also to social results.

MicroEurope and BNP Paribas signed an MoU based on the common objective of improving financial inclusion in Europe. The partnership materializes through the participation of Ms. Claudia Belli, Head of Inclusive at BNP Paribas, in the Advisory Committee of MicroEurope, allowing BNP Paribas to provide independent opinions and help MicroEurope achieve its financial and social objectives. BNP Paribas acknowledges the importance of building capacity at the management level of inclusive financial service providers and the fact that MicroEurope’s activities are key to achieving this goal. BNP Paribas is open to consider co-investment opportunities and debt provision as a complement to MicroEurope’s equity investments.