The Social Impact Fund (FIS), managed by COFIDES, has granted a €1 million loan to Bridge for Billions, a social enterprise specialized in designing and managing incubation programs for early-stage ventures, to strengthen its digital infrastructure and its system for supporting Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (ESOs) across Spain.
This initiative is part of FIS’s strategy to back projects that combine positive social impact with financial sustainability, reinforcing entrepreneurial ecosystems as drivers of employment, social cohesion, and economic inclusion. The financing will enable Bridge for Billions to enhance its technology platform by adding new functionalities for training and strengthening ESOs, as well as incorporating artificial intelligence solutions to personalize entrepreneur learning, provide enhanced mentoring support, and improve impact measurement and the quality of incubation programs.
The loan is complemented by €100,000 in technical assistance, aimed at boosting Bridge for Billions’ team capabilities and evaluating the solution with future user organizations. This support will allow Bridge for Billions to scale its Conecta España program, working with ESOs across the country and expanding its impact to support 1,000 ventures over the next three years.
Bridge for Billions operates in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Africa, and has maintained offices in Madrid for the past ten years. During this time, it has graduated 7,000 entrepreneurs worldwide, including nearly 2,000 in Spain, making it the organization’s primary market, followed by Guatemala and the United States.
The financing agreement was signed by Ángela Pérez, CEO of COFIDES, and Pablo Santaeufemia, CEO and founder of Bridge for Billions, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, with the presence of Elena Rodríguez, Secretary General for Inclusion.
Elena Rodríguez highlighted:
"This operation will strengthen entrepreneurial education and mentoring programs, supported by experienced professionals guiding incubation and project development. The goal is to consolidate a robust, innovative, inclusive, and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem in Spain that leverages technology to drive solutions with social impact."
Ángela Pérez, CEO of COFIDES, added:
"The FIS’s support for this network of programs will expand the number of impact-driven entrepreneurs accessing quality training. It is therefore an innovative initiative that puts technology at the service of social transformation, promoting entrepreneurship as a driver of employment and social cohesion capable of creating opportunities where none existed before."
Pablo Santaeufemia, CEO and founder of Bridge for Billions, emphasized:
"This operation demonstrates a deep understanding that entrepreneurial ecosystems require solid infrastructure to generate long-term impact. For entrepreneurship education to be truly accessible and high-quality, a collective effort is needed that recognizes its nature as a public good and strengthens the organizations that support it. The FIS’s backing allows us to reinforce these organizations and scale solutions benefiting thousands of entrepreneurs in Spain."
The FIS was established by the Spanish Government through an addendum to the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (PRTR), with funding from the NextGenerationEU instrument. Attached to the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, it is a public financial instrument designed to strengthen the social impact ecosystem in Spain by supporting investment projects by companies and other entities that generate measurable positive social and/or environmental impact.
The fund has a total budget of €400 million and provides financial support to projects that are financially sustainable and address unmet social and environmental challenges, while also mobilizing additional private resources.
Bridge for Billions is a global social enterprise specializing in incubation programs for early-stage ventures. Through its digital platform, it collaborates with public, private, and philanthropic actors to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems, support impact-driven entrepreneurs, and train Entrepreneurship Support Organizations. Since its founding, it has supported more than 7,000 entrepreneurs from over 140 countries.
COFIDES is a state-owned commercial company that manages public financial funds, as well as its own and third-party resources, with multiple objectives: internationalizing the Spanish economy, attracting foreign investment to strategic sectors in Spain, promoting impact investing in Spain, and contributing to the development of countries in which it invests. In addition to the Spanish state, COFIDES’s shareholders include Banco Santander, BBVA, Banco Sabadell, and CAF – Latin American Development Bank.
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