The General Deputy of Bizkaia, Elixabete Etxanobe, has presented Crowdlending Bizkaia, the first public service in the world of collective loans for companies that allows individuals and legal entities to jointly finance companies in Bizkaia through loans that are 100% guaranteed. Elkargi is the main Reciprocal Guarantee Society that guarantees these loans and the strategic partner of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia in this pioneering initiative. Zenón Vázquez, CEO of Elkargi, accompanied the General Deputy at the press conference.
Crowdlending Bizkaia allows, on the one hand, citizens to finance companies in Bizkaia previously selected by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia through its company Seed Capital Bizkaia from 500 euros without risk; and on the other hand, it allows the business fabric of Bizkaia to have a new way of financing alternative to traditional banking to promote its innovation, growth and/or environmentally responsible projects, socially committed and with solid governance models. The people who decide to participate will receive quarterly interest referenced to Euribor + 1.75%. With the current Euribor around 2.22%, the annual return stands at 3.97%.
The General Deputy of Bizkaia Elixabete Etxanobe has pointed out that “we democratize the possibility of financing companies in Bizkaia to generate an investment culture among citizens with zero risk. The Provincial Council of Bizkaia innovates again in finance with impact so that our productive fabric can innovate, grow and generate wealth and employment in the territory. For this we have allied ourselves with Elkargi.”
For his part, Zenón Vázquez, CEO of Elkargi, highlighted that “alternative financing is a key element to strengthen the competitiveness of our companies. It allows the diversification of financing sources, gaining flexibility and addressing projects that, due to their structure or dimension, found more difficulties to be financed with traditional banking. At Elkargi we remain committed to promoting tools that provide value and accompany the growth and strengthening of our SMEs in an increasingly demanding environment. Through public-private collaboration, we add capacities, multiply the impact and strengthen the growth of our SMEs.”
First active operations: Ziur Water Services and RK Solutions
Crowdlending Bizkaia has launched its first two financing operations. The first corresponds to Ziur Water Services, which proposes a round of 200,000 euros. Ziur Water Services is a company from Bilbao that develops technological solutions around the water cycle with special focus on intelligent management systems, water efficiency and advanced treatment of water resources.
The second operation is promoted by RK Solutions, which needs 50,000 euros. It is a technology company based in Gernika-Lumo and specialized in the development of digital solutions aimed at the optimization of business and industrial processes. The financing will allow strengthening its activity and consolidating its growth in the field of improving the operational efficiency of SMEs in the territory.
Both operations have been validated by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia through Seed Capital Bizkaia after a process of technical and financial analysis that evaluates solvency, the viability of the project and its alignment with the strategic and sustainability criteria of the program.
Crowdlending Bizkaia, alternative financing
Crowdlending Bizkaia is an instrument of alternative financing, that which groups formulas different from traditional bank credit such as venture capital or participatory financing that allows companies to diversify their sources of economic resources.
In the case of crowdlending multiple investor persons contribute capital through an online platform until completing the amount of each round (between 50,000 and 300,000 euros) and that amount is granted as a loan to a company from Bizkaia previously selected by Seed Capital Bizkaia. The operations are articulated through Bizkaia Crowdfunding, a platform supervised by the CNMV (registered as a Provider of Crowdfunding Financing Services).
Legal security and total guarantee
The operations are guaranteed 100% by Elkargi, Reciprocal Guarantee Society, with the institutional backing of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. This means that both the main capital lent and the interests are guaranteed.
The general conditions of the instrument are:
The platform evaluates each financing person according to European regulations based on their income, saving capacity, training and investment experience, classifying them into two categories: experienced or non-experienced. Individuals and legal entities considered of a more basic profile can lend up to 3,000 euros per operation, thus guaranteeing adequate protection for those who lack experience. People recover the principal plus the interests with a quarterly periodicity as the company pays the installments of the loan.
In case of early cancellation by the company, the lending persons will receive all the principal pending at that moment. The amount will be paid through a payment gateway, an online payment entity authorized by the Bank of Spain, from where the contributions are made, the money is transferred or reinvested in another company proposed by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia.
Advantages for companies of Bizkaia
The service is aimed exclusively at companies domiciled in Bizkaia with at least two years of trajectory. Innovative initiatives, responsible with the environment, socially committed and/or with solid governance models will be prioritized.
Crowdlending Bizkaia offers them:
Seed Capital Bizkaia selects the companies that access the platform, guaranteeing solvency, viability and strategic alignment.
Training program for investor persons
In a second phase, once the first operations are consolidated, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia plans to organize specific trainings to generate a culture of financing and investment among the people who participate in its proposals in order to generate a community.
The objective is to accompany especially people with economic availability and investment vocation, but with a certain aversion to risk, adapting the contents to the real profile of the generated community.
A consolidated public-private financial ecosystem
Crowdlending Bizkaia is integrated in the financial ecosystem managed by Seed Capital Bizkaia, which in 2025 closed 23 operations for an amount greater than 4.5 million euros through its different funds. Two of them, the BI and BAF funds, have recently received 8 million euros additional from the Provincial Council of Bizkaia to continue underpinning the business fabric of Bizkaia.
With this new service, Bizkaia again places itself at the institutional vanguard, innovating to reinforce access to financing for its companies and channel private savings towards the economic development of the territory.
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