- The EIB and the INBONIS agency are collaborating to facilitate access to bank financing through independent credit ratings.
- The initiative focuses on innovative companies backed by venture debt and those linked to technological sustainability.
- The goal is to reduce the funding gap for scaleups that, despite their commercial maturity, lack a traditional credit history.
You've probably heard that raising money is no small feat for emerging tech companies, but the real headache comes when they try to make the leap to traditional banks . Many European startups and scaleups, even with a working product and customers who want it, hit a wall because banks usually require a credit history that these companies, due to their agile and young nature, simply don't have.
To address this gap, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has taken action. The idea is to use external credit ratings as a bridge, allowing financial institutions to better assess the risk of these innovative companies and ensuring that the flow of money reaches where it can truly impact the competitiveness of the European Union.
The strategic agreement between the EIB and INBONIS
Within its advisory services, specifically through EIB Advisory, the EIB has launched a very interesting pilot project. They have entered into an agreement with INBONIS , a rating agency based in Spain that specializes in the analysis of SMEs and mid-caps. This project will be developed over a period of 18 months under the umbrella of the InvestEU Advisory Hub , which is essentially the investment support platform jointly managed by the European Commission and the EIB itself.
The aim here is to enable companies already backed by venture debt and private debt instruments from the EIB to obtain independent credit ratings. It is crucial that these ratings are issued by agencies registered with ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) to ensure their validity and real weight in the eyes of intermediary banks.
How does the Private Rating System (PCR) work?
In this process, INBONIS conducts thorough credit assessments to issue what are known as Private Credit Ratings (PCRs) . These ratings are not for just anyone, but rather for a selection of strategic companies in various sectors, including those that are part of the CleanTechEU guarantee program , which focuses on clean technologies.
The ultimate goal is to analyze whether these external ratings help banks expedite the granting of loans and working capital lines of credit. By improving comparability between companies and standardizing risk assessment, much of the uncertainty that typically leads a bank manager to reject a startup's loan application is eliminated.
Overcoming the barriers of traditional credit
One of the biggest problems is that SMEs often don't know how to present their financial information in a way that banks understand or value. With a professional credit rating report , the company provides structured and transparent documentation, allowing banks to set more competitive interest rates and make decisions based on real data, not just intuition.
- Technological maturity: Many companies are already commercially sound but financially invisible.
- Strategic autonomy: This support is key to ensuring that Europe is not so dependent on external capital for its innovations.
- Closing the gap: The aim is to unite the world of venture capital with traditional bank financing.
The role of the EIB Group and the structure of InvestEU
To understand the magnitude of this, it's important to remember that the EIB Group is the EU's financial engine. Under Nadia Calviño's leadership, this institution doesn't seek personal profit, but rather the reinvestment of its earnings to offer highly competitive terms. In 2025, they mobilized a massive amount of funds, some €100.000 billion, for high-impact projects where the green transition and sustainability are top priorities.
In addition to the EIB, the European Investment Fund (EIF) also plays a role, acting as an anchor investor to mobilize private capital. A prime example is the European Tech Champions Initiative , a fund of funds that has fostered the creation of mega-funds for venture capital, helping startups scale into unicorns with valuations exceeding one billion euros.
All of this falls under the InvestEU program , which is divided into three pillars: the InvestEU Fund, the Portal, and the Advisory Hub. Thanks to an EU budget guarantee of €26.200 billion, massive additional investment can be attracted to ensure that Europe's economic recovery is sustainable and digital.
The mission of agencies like INBONIS, which is also a certified B Corp, is to democratize access to these financial tools. By helping SMEs obtain a Eurosystem-recognized ECAI rating, trust with business partners is strengthened , and a much more robust financial literacy culture is fostered across the continent.
This alliance between the public sector and specialized agencies is forging a new path where technological innovation and banking solvency finally meet, allowing fast-growing companies to have the financial oxygen they need to compete globally without relying exclusively on endless rounds of investment.
