COFIDES, through the Social Impact Fund (FIS), has granted a €2 million loan to Fundación Seira to expand the capacity of its Seira Impuls Cooperatiu vehicle and facilitate access to financing for cooperatives and social economy entities in Catalonia.
This financing will strengthen the foundation’s activity, which provides long-term participating loans ranging from €20,000 to €400,000 to support the growth, consolidation, and sustainability of these entities, particularly those facing greater difficulties in accessing traditional credit. The vehicle has already financed nearly forty cooperatives and social economy organizations and plans to broaden its reach in the coming years.
In addition, the transaction includes €220,000 in technical assistance aimed at strengthening the financial and management capabilities of the supported entities, as well as improving the measurement and management of the impact of their activities.
IMPACT OBJECTIVE: CONSOLIDATION AND CREATION OF 440 JOBS
This project will contribute to the creation and consolidation of employment within the social economy, with an estimated target of 440 jobs, while also strengthening the financial resources, governance, and environmental impact management of the supported entities.
The operation is aligned with the objectives of the Social Impact Fund to promote the financial sustainability of the social economy and foster financial inclusion by facilitating access to financing instruments tailored to business models with social impact.
The financing agreement was formally signed today at COFIDES headquarters by Ángela Pérez and Miguel Linde, in the presence of Elena Rodríguez, Secretary General for Inclusion.
Following the signing, Elena Rodríguez highlighted that “the FIS is a clear commitment to social economy and impact-driven business models.” She added: “With this operation, we hope to contribute to a sector comprising 127,532 companies and organizations, representing 11.1% of Spain’s GDP and generating more than 2.25 million jobs across the country.”
Ángela Pérez, Chairwoman and CEO of COFIDES, stated that “cooperatives and social economy enterprises play a key role in generating inclusive and sustainable employment. Through the Social Impact Fund, we aim to help them access financing tailored to their needs and impact objectives, thereby contributing to a more inclusive and resilient economy.”
Jaume Oller added that “the entry of the FIS into Fundación Seira’s Investment Fund represents a historic milestone that goes beyond our organizations and becomes a turning point for the social economy throughout Spain. For the first time, a public instrument of the scale of the FIS directly connects with the essence of social impact in Spain: the social and cooperative economy. Moreover, it does so through a fund created by and for the social economy, ensuring that capital serves social transformation exclusively. This shared success could be the first step toward deploying a network of territorial funds led by the social economy that brings the social impact of investments to every corner of the country.”
ABOUT Fundación Seira
Fundación Seira is Catalonia’s leading organization in ethical and cooperative finance. Established in 2008, its mission is to support and promote cooperativism, particularly worker cooperatives. Seira is the investment vehicle of the Federation of Worker Cooperatives of Catalonia and represents the first patient and sustainable financing solution designed to consolidate Social and Cooperative Economy entities.
Seira helps build trust between financial institutions and cooperatives through a range of practical tools and tailored training initiatives. Since its inception, Seira Social Investment has invested in 36 Social and Cooperative Economy projects, disbursing a total volume of €2.8 million. In the last year alone, it has provided financial guidance to 140 entities, securing more than €11.779 million in financing.
ABOUT THE SOCIAL IMPACT FUND (FIS)
The FIS is a fund created by the Spanish Government through the addendum to the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) and financed with resources from the NextGenerationEU instrument. Attached to the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, it is a public financial instrument designed to strengthen Spain’s impact ecosystem by supporting investment projects carried out by companies and other organizations in Spain that generate positive and measurable social and/or environmental impact.
The fund is endowed with €400 million and provides financial support to projects that are financially sustainable and help address under-served social and environmental challenges, while also promoting the mobilization of additional private resources.
ABOUT COFIDES
COFIDES is a state-owned company that manages public financial funds, as well as its own resources and those of third-party institutions, with several objectives: supporting the internationalization of the Spanish economy, attracting foreign investment into strategic sectors in Spain, promoting the impact economy in Spain, and contributing to the development of the countries in which it invests.
In addition to the Spanish State, which holds a majority stake, its shareholders include Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Banco Sabadell and CAF - Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina
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