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KfW's European commitment
KfW's European commitment
As Germany's national promotional bank, KfW also acts for Europe. The KfW programmes can be used without discrimination by European enterprises or private individuals based in Germany. Some of the programmes also specifically support cross-border projects. An important field of action is project and export finance of KfW IPEX Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of KfW, to strengthen the German and European export economy. In addition, KfW uses EU risk-sharing guarantees to facilitate access to credit for young companies. KfW pools its resources with those of the European Commission to strengthen the impact of EU development cooperation and contribute to the German government's common goals with the EU. KfW Development Bank and DEG cooperate with EU institutions and other bilateral and European promotional banks on specific projects to combat poverty, improve the living conditions of people in developing countries and protect the climate and oceans.
National development banks support Ukrainian refugees
In May 2022, the EU's national development banks and institutions (CDC, CDP, ICO, BGK and KfW, ELTI) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), committed to provide EUR 2 billion financing in support of Ukrainian refugees until the end of 2022. The initiative was launched shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It aimed to assist Ukrainian refugees in the European Union and internally displaced persons in Ukraine by providing financial resources through a variety of measures reaching from housing to education, from employment to childcare and from medicine to humanitarian support. Some projects were also directed at helping refugees to integrate into their local communities.
The initiative closed end of 2022 with a total financing volume of EUR 3.1 billion. The European Promotional Banks will continue their support for Ukraine with individual measures in accordance with the national and European authorities.
KfW CEO Stefan B. Wintels: „The humanitarian situation in Ukraine remains dramatic. Through joint action we have been able to initiate a large number of support measures. Every single contribution helps to alleviate the burden of internally displaced persons and refugees abroad.”
“We need to ensure continued support to the Ukrainian economy. It is my firm belief that we cannot afford a pause in our support in the coming weeks and months. It is the rational thing to do to keep the Ukrainian economy running in these hard and difficult times”, EIB-President Werner Hoyer says.
Project examples within the framework of the CARE Initiative:
- TUMO goes virtual for Ukrainian youths
- Former Kurhaus Viktoria in Schönwald accommodates refugees
- EIB finances urban infrastructure for Rzeszów in eastern Poland
- Joint efforts by staff to support Ukraine
Ukraine measures (16 December 2022)
Growth capital for tech companies
Although young technology companies offer enormous growth and innovation opportunities, the market for venture capital in Europe has significant catch-up and further development potential compared to the Anglo-Saxon region. KfW is addressing this deficit in line with the EU strategy of a Capital Markets Union through its subsidiary KfW Capital, which has been an important investor in the VC market since 2018. To support the development of tech companies in Europe, five national VC investors, namely Bpifrance (France), Tesi (Finland), Hellenic Development Bank of Investments (Greece) Vækstfonden (Denmark) and KfW Capital (Germany) have entered into a cooperation agreement to mobilise EUR 3.3 billion for fund investments in Europe over the next 5 years. The strategic cooperation was signed at the "Growing together" event in Athens in April 2022 and is open to further partners among European public investors. In addition, KfW Capital has designed the Future Fund for Germany in close cooperation with policymakers with a total volume of EUR 10 billion, of which EUR 7 billion can already be drawn down.
New goal declared - with the "Clean Oceans Initiative" against plastic waste in the world's oceans
Once hailed as a miracle material, plastic has now become a plague of our time. An estimated eight million tonnes end up in the world's oceans every year. To counteract this, KfW, together with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the French development bank AFD, founded the Clean Oceans Initiative in 2018. Two years later, the Spanish ICO and the Italian CDP joined and, since this year, also the EBRD.
Plastic waste in the oceans is currently one of the biggest global challenges, because the oceans are indispensable for the planet. They provide food, medicine, renewable energy and many other resources. But they also regulate the climate and are one of the world's largest CO2 reservoirs. Keeping the oceans intact is therefore a major concern for KfW.
Originally, the Clean Oceans partners had set themselves the goal of mobilising 2 billion euros in projects to reduce plastic and other litter in the world's oceans by 2023. By the end of 2021, 80% of this target had already been met. At the One Ocean Summit in Brest, the initiative was therefore extended and the target increased to 4 billion euros by 2025.
KfW Stories
As of February 2023
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