The InvestEU Programme

Building on the successful experience of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), also known as the Juncker Plan, the InvestEU Programme merged the several financial instruments available during the past Multi-Annual Financial Framework in a single instrument to support sustainable investment, innovation and job creation across Europe, streamlining access to finance and mobilising private investment.

The InvestEU Programme promotes investment and financing, both direct and indirect, in four priority areas or policy windows: (i) Research, Innovation and Digitisation (Research, Innovation and Digitisation Window - RIDW), (ii) Sustainable Infrastructure (Sustainable Infrastructure Window - SIW), iii) SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises Window - SMEW) and iv) Social Investment and Skills Window (Social Investment and Skills Window - SISW).

The Programme is structured around three pillars: the Fund, the Advisory Hub, and the Portal.

The InvestEU Fund provide an EU budgetary guarantee of approximately EUR 26.2 billion, deployed through delegated management (indirect management), following the principles of the so-called open architecture. 75% of the Fund's guarantee is implemented by the European Investment Bank Group (EIB and EIF). For the first time, the remaining 25% is managed by National Promotion Institutions and International Financial Institutions, selected as Implementing Partners through the Pillar Assessment process.

The management of the InvestEU guarantee is formalized through Guarantee Agreements signed between the European Commission and the Implementing Partners.

CDP Equity Guarantee Agreement

In 2021, CDP Equity underwent the selection process to obtain the Implementing Partner status, successfully completed in April 2022, necessary to manage EU funds through indirect management.

CDP Equity participated in the First Call for Expression of Interest (CEoI), during which the European Commission issued resources among various Implementing Partners besides the EIB Group. On 7 October 2022, CDP Equity signed a Guarantee Agreement with the European Commission in the context of the InvestEU Fund. This ensured securing a guarantee of up to EUR 312 million to foster the development of Italy's venture capital market, and generate a total of EUR 520 million investments.

This agreement represents an important first step for CDP Equity in implementing European programmes in the field of equity investments.

The Guarantee Agreement was amended on 15 December 2023, resulting in CDP Equity receiving an additional EUR 60 million of InvestEU guarantee, which allowed CDP Equity to co-invest in the Pan-European fund ”Marguerite III”, which focuses on green and digital infrastructures.