The Innovative Enterprise week SOFIA 2018 - Financial instruments fostering Research and Innovation, was organized as a 1-day conference to raise awareness of the potential for the financial instruments, facilities and accompanying measures launched, in particular, under Horizon 2020 vision to enhance access to finance for research and innovation. Access to Risk Finance in Horizon 2020 helps companies and other types of organisations engaged in research and innovation (R&I) to have easier access to debt and equity finance. To this end, the 'InnovFin' (EU Finance for Innovators) product range consists of a suite of tailored financial instruments complemented by a set of accompanying measures to facilitate access to debt and equity finance for SMEs and (medium and large) midcaps. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) (altogether the "EIB Group") are the entrusted entities that implement each financial instrument facility on behalf of and in partnership with the European Commission. As of November 2018, the SME Instrument (SMEI) and Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) will become the central part of the European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot, supporting top-class innovators, entrepreneurs, small companies and scientists with bright ideas and the ambition to scale up internationally. The EIC brings together the parts of Horizon 2020 that provide funding, advice and networking opportunities for those at cutting edge of innovation targeting radically new, breakthrough products, services, processes or business models that open up new markets.
The Innovative Enterprise week SOFIA 2018 focused was on the interactions possible between these instruments, COSME's financial instruments, European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF), the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), instruments at national and local level as well as with the European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot supporting innovators developing breakthrough innovations.
The conference successfully reached its main objectives to:
- Ensure proper awareness and popularization of the financial instruments, especially among SMEs and midcaps, financial intermediaries (banks as well as risk capital funds including private investors and corporate investors);
- Create interactions possible between these financial instruments, COSME's, European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), instruments at national and local level as well as with the European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot
- Bring together the main stakeholders (EU, national and regional Policy makers, Financial intermediaries, representatives from Research, Innovation and Business) to discuss the best uptake of the available financial instruments and the improvement of existing and development of new financial instruments that will support R&I in the upcoming years.
- Shade lights on important happenings, initiatives and announcements related to Research & Innovation and particularly on the financial instruments resulting to support these new initiatives
