Applications for the Social Innovation Tournament (SIT) 2022 are now open until 24 February. The SIT is the EIB Institute Social Programme flagship initiative that recognises and supports the best European social entrepreneurs whose primary purpose is to generate a social, ethical or environmental impact. Projects can cover any of the 17 SDGs and this year’s Special Category Prize will go to projects focusing on blue and green economy.

The update of the EU Industrial Strategy highlights the need to accelerate the green and digital transitions of EU Industry. Among the various instruments, the Commission proposed to co-create, in partnership with industry, public authorities, social partners and other stakeholders, transition pathways for ecosystems, where needed. The proximity & social economy ecosystem was identified among those ecosystems to develop such a transition pathway.

The general objective of this call for proposals is to tackle the expertise of NGOs/CSOs to assist SMEs in their transition to more sustainable business models by funding practical projects/actions able to impact the environmental and/or social performance of the SMEs. This call is expected to help enhance interaction and improve collaboration between small- and medium-sized enterprises and NGOs/CSOs active in the same regions.

The present call for applications lays down the detailed specifications to apply for Bilateral Cooperation Initiatives.

The EaSI Guarantee Instrument is funded from the EaSI Programme and is specifically dedicated to microfinance and social entrepreneurship. One of its key objectives is to increase the availability of and access to finance for vulnerable groups wishing to launch their own enterprises, micro-enterprises and social enterprises, both in their start-up and development phases.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and the European Commission recently announced a new initiative to help micro-credit and social enterprise finance providers develop their businesses under the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI).

The objective of this instrument is to build up the institutional capacity of selected financial intermediaries that have not yet reached sustainability or are in need of risk capital to sustain their growth and development.

As part of the policy response to address the economic disruption caused by COVID-19, certain measures are made available to Financial Intermediaries to provide dedicated support to micro-borrowers, microenterprises and social enterprises. These Support Measures enhance the availability of finance to EaSI target final recipients. The COVID-19 Support Measures shall consist, in principle, of an increase in the risk taking capacity of EaSI Guarantee through the amendment of certain terms of the instrument.