1st May 2009
By Paul Dicken
Wales is to be the first country in the UK to receive money from a European Investment Bank fund to invest in small and medium-sized businesses.
The EIB and Welsh Assembly Government announced on April 25 that the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises (Jeremie) initiative would provide £150m to support the expansion of over 800 businesses.
The WAG said the fund would create up to 15,000 jobs and would be used by the government to support people finding work.
Speaking at the Welsh Labour Party conference in Swansea, First Minister Rhodri Morgan said the fund was ‘another example of agile government for fragile times’.
The fund is made up of £75m from the EIB with a further £75m coming from European Regional Development Funds.
Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said the initiative would provide an ‘investment legacy’ for Welsh businesses. ‘Those using the scheme will pay off money borrowed as they grow, and the funding can then be reinvested.’
