merrion street

Record number of loans approved– 400 loans totalling €5.5M and 1,141 jobs created or sustained by Microfinance Ireland (MFI) in 2017

€30M commitment from EIF for micro-enterprises in Ireland over the next 5 years

Pat Breen TD, Minister for Trade, Employment and Business, has welcomed the publication of the Microfinance Ireland’s annual results for 2017 and its agreement with the European Investment Fund (EIF) to provide an additional €30 million in loans to Irish borrowers over the next five years. 

Microfinance Ireland’s annual results for 2017 shows that €22.6m of loans have been approved under the Microenterprise Loan Fund which is part-funded by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.  This has helped to support 3,952 jobs in borrowing companies.

In addition, the European Investment Fund (EIF) has signed a second agreement with Microfinance Ireland, providing a guarantee that enables MFI to provide an additional €30M in loans to micro-borrowers over the next 5 years.

Commenting on these two significant milestones, Minister Breen stated

“It is very encouraging to see that the demand for Microfinance Ireland’s services continues to grow.  This initiative is making a real difference across every town and county in Ireland. 

This additional guarantee provided by EIF is also a very strong endorsement of Microfinance Ireland and the valuable work they do in supporting micro-businesses looking to start and grow a business. This guarantee will enable a large number of additional micro-enterprises, who may be challenged in accessing funding from traditional lending providers, to avail of loan finance over the next 5 years.

I would like to congratulate Garrett Stokes, CEO of Microfinance Ireland and his team on the strong performance in 2017 and their continued good work in supporting small businesses which are at the heart of the economy in Ireland.”