CoopEst has recently increased its financial capacity from € 15 million to € 30 million thanks to the support of the JASMINE initiative (managed by the European Investment Fund), and the additional commitment of its founding partners and other long term partners including the International Finance Corporation (a member of the World Bank Group).

Established in 2006, CoopEst, a private Belgium-based investment fund, has already grown its well diversified investment portfolio to almost €15 million comprising investments in 17 socially responsible financial institutions engaged in microfinance (micro-credit organizations, credit and savings unions and cooperative banks) and operating in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Kosovo. CoopEst plays an important role in providing access to finance to micro- and small businesses and entrepreneurs in Central and Eastern Europe, in line with the recent European Union programs and initiatives aimed at developing microfinance, such as the 2007 European initiative for the development of micro-credit in support of growth and employment.

“This important step, thanks to the support of our investors including two major international financial institutions EIF and IFC, will help CoopEst continue its efforts in supporting micro- and small businesses and entrepreneurs in Central and Eastern Europe, which is particularly crucial during these times of financial stress,” said Michal Radziwill, CoopEst Executive Director. “The fact that we are the first project financed through the EIF managed JASMINE initiative is recognition of our position and achievements in the microfinance sector.”

JASMINE is the joint initiative of the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund for the development of microcredit in Europe. It is dedicated to improve access to finance for micro- and small businesses and for the part of population that has limited access to finance.

CoopEst founding partners and investors are:
APS BANK (Malta), CAISSE CENTRALE DU CREDIT MUTUEL (France), COOPERAZIONE FINANZA IMPRESA (Italy), CREDIT COOPERATIF (France), CULTURA SPARBANK (Norway), ESFIN (France), EUROPEAN INVESTMENT FUND, IDES INVESTISSEMENTS (France), INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION, ITAS VITA (Italy), MACIF (France), MACIF PARTICIPATIONS (France), MAIF (France), SEFEA (Italy), SOFICATRA (Belgium) and TISE (Poland).

About IFC: IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. IFC fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC new investments totalled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

About EIF :The EIF is the European Union’s institution specialised in small and medium-sized enterprise risk financing. The EIF central mission is to support Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops equity and guarantees instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, the EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and regional development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. For more information, visit www.eif.org.

For more information about CoopEst visit www.coopest.eu or contact us
Brussels: Bruno Dunkel, + 32 2 770 15 62; bruno.dunkel@coopest.eu
Paris: Yaël Zlotowski, +33 1 47 24 83 39; yael.zlotowski@coopest.eu
Warsaw: Michał Radziwiłł, +48 22 636 07 40; michal.radziwill@coopest.eu

A downloadable PDF-version of this text is available in English and French.

Mesdames et messieurs,
C’est un grand plaisir de participer au lancement officiel de cette initiative CoopEST. Je suis très heureuse d’être parmi vous ce soir. Les distingués intervenants qui m’ont présentés ont donnés une image très claire de l’initiative et de ses futures perspectives. Je voudrais en conclusion insister sur trois aspects qui me paraissent particulièrement importants.

First, your initiative is so important because it is local in nature. Its work will be grounded in local communities and as a result be perfectly placed to respond to local needs and challenges. The small and medium enterprises, the micro enterprises, and the social economy enterprises which will ultimately benefit from your work are significant providers of jobs, and at the same time will promote social equality and provide quality products and services. These enterprises all have a key role to play in driving forward the European growth and jobs agenda. But in addition to this, your initiative has the potential to empower and to dynamise local people and their communities to find exciting alternatives to more traditional ways of doing business. This active citizenship, and the feeling of ownership it creates, are essential aspects of sustainable economic development.

Second, your initiative is important because it involves financial institutions directly in local development. This is significant for various reasons. In many regions of the Union, access to finance is still extremely difficult, the barriers are numerous, and the lack of mutual understanding between financial institutions and potential entrepreneurs from the local community is great. This inability to access funding is a major brake on the creativity of our citizens and the dynamism of our economies. Initiatives such as CoopEST are of great importance in filling this gap. Your initiative makes available to those involved in local development the skills, the expertise, and the rigour of the banking sector. This will improve the efficiency and the management culture of local development and regeneration. Social enterprises operate in a hugely challenging and competitive environment, and in order to deliver on their social goals they must be of the highest quality. By investing via the intermediation of financial institutions, it is to be hoped that you are contributing to the development of sustainable capacity of financial intermediation of this type.

Finally, your initiative is important because it is focusing on the most recent members of the European Union, and on possible future members. The social economy is of relevance across all the regions of the Union, and there is growing awareness in the Member States of its significance for the economy as a whole. But your particular focus is welcome as it may be that in these countries the potential of the social economy has not been fully exploited in the transition towards market economies. Initiatives such as CoopEST have an important role to play in promoting the further development of civil society though support to charities, foundations and to voluntary sector organisations.

Ladies and Gentlemen, your initiative is also of particular importance to me as Commissioner for Regional Policy. What I have just said on CoopEST is fully in line with the approach which we have adopted for European Cohesion Policy in the period 2007-2013. This policy is based on the full mobilisation and involvement of regional and local actors in the design and implementation of our programmes. We will also involve to a greater extent than ever before private expertise and the banking sector through new instruments – such as JEREMIE for small and medium and micro enterprises – which we have developed with the European Investment Bank, and which will both provide access to finance for SMEs who otherwise find it difficult, and promote the development of sustainable financial intermediation at local level. And of course the rapid convergence of the new Member States, by investing in innovation and competitiveness, is a central aim of the policy. CoopEST is a private initiative which can only help to strengthen the impact of Community programmes on regional and local development. I thank you for this initiative and I wish you every success with it.

Source : entreprises.coop, le 27 Novembre 2006; Lang.: FR

La Lettre du GNC – Où en êtes-vous dans la constitution de COOPEST, fonds de développement en faveur du développement des coopératives et des mutuelles dans les pays d’Europe Centrale et Orientale ?

Marcel Hipszman – La création de COOPEST a été officiellement annoncée lors de la Conférence de Cracovie à l’automne 2004, à l’occasion de la signature par les fondateurs (au nombre de 7) d’une déclaration solennelle exprimant leur intention de créer dans les meilleurs délais “un fonds de développement en faveur des pays qui viennent de rejoindre l’Union européenne ou s’apprêtent à le faire prochainement” pour reprendre les termes de la déclaration. Il faudra encore près d’un an avant que cette intention devienne une réalité. C’est en effet en novembre 2005 qu’a été fondée la société de financement COOPEST, société de droit belge au capital de 62 000 euros entièrement libéré dont le siège est établi à Bruxelles dans les locaux de SOFICATRA, société de capital-risque dont ESFIN et CFI (société italienne) sont les principaux actionnaires. Les actionnaires de COOPEST sont aujourd’hui au nombre de 7. Outre l’IDES, il s’agit du CREDIT COOPERATIF, de SOFICATRA, de CFI (Cooperazione Finanza Impresa S.c.p.a), de MACIF PARTICIPATIONS, de la banque polonaise BISE et de SEFEA (Societa Europea Finanza Etica ed Alternativa).
COOPEST est aujourd’hui opérationnel. Ses organes sociaux (conseil d’administration et comité de direction) sont en place. SOFICATRA en assure la gestion (en prestation de service), François Soulage préside le conseil.

De quels moyens financiers disposez vous ?

M. H. – COOPEST s’est fixé pour objectif de lever une trentaine de millions d’euros dans un premier temps pour répondre aux besoins des entreprises de l’économie sociale dans la zone géographique concernée. Il s’apprête à émettre une première tranche de titres de créances à hauteur de 15 millions d’euros, le mois prochain, à laquelle les actionnaires actuels de COOPEST souscriront pour environ 6 millions d’euros, la SFI (société financière internationale, filiale de la Banque Mondiale) s’engageant pour le reste, au côté éventuellement d’autres institutions financières.

Quelles sont les modalités d’intervention de COOPEST? Comment rencontrezvous les porteurs de projets ? Quelle est la procédure de sélection des projets ?

M. H. – Pour ses interventions, COOPEST s’appuie essentiellement sur des partenaires financiers locaux, banques de plein exercice ou intermédiaires financiers éprouvés disposant de l’expertise nécessaire pour ce type d’investissement et partageant éventuellement une partie du risque. Pour la promotion du dispositif, l’identification des prospects, l’appui à la sélection des projets, au montage des dossiers et le suivi, COOPEST s’appuie sur des bureaux régionaux (organismes ou réseaux de compétence) liés par contrat.
Il y en a deux à l’heure actuelle : TISE en Pologne et INTEGRA en Slovaquie.
La sélection des projets retenus et la prise de décision relèvent en dernière analyse du comité de direction après validation du comité d’investissement et sous réserve du recours éventuel au conseil d’administration.

Comment a été accueillie la création du fonds ? Pensez-vous pouvoir élargir le tour de table des partenaires ?

M. H. – COOPEST est plutôt bien perçu, comme le montre l’intérêt porté au projet par la Banque Mondiale et par la BERD et par d’autres partenaires financiers français (le Crédit Mutuel) ou étrangers qui pourraient ultérieurement rejoindre les fondateurs à l’occasion de nouvelles levées de fonds. Une campagne de prospection intensive tant auprès des intermédiaires financiers que des fédérations d’entreprises de l’économie sociale ou de réseaux d’entreprise est en cours depuis bientôt 3 mois en Roumanie, Hongrie, Bulgarie, notamment. De nombreux contacts ont été pris qui pourraient déboucher dans les mois à venir. Néanmoins, beaucoup reste à faire pour mieux faire connaître COOPEST et lui permettre de remplir ses objectifs. L’année 2007 sera cruciale à cet égard.

Quels seront vos premiers investissements?

M. H. – Deux projets devraient pouvoir être financés dans les tous prochains mois. Le premier concerne la mutuelle d’assurance polonaise TUW-TUW, filiale de la MACIF, pour un montant de 2 millions d’euros, la MACIF apportant de son côté 2 millions d’euros.