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Web Summit 2022:  EIB supports Izicap’s expansion into Portugal and international markets

  • EIB supports Izicap’s R&D strategy, targeting innovative growth and market expansion
  • EU investment  will be provided under the Innovation & Digitalisation Growth Finance – Venture Debt Programme Loan
  • The Finance for boosting international expansion was announced at Web Summit in Lisbon

The EIB is investing EUR 15 million into Izicap enabling the SME fintech to develop and market a loyalty software solution for small merchants operating in local shops to boost business growth in Europe.

The new EIB venture debt investment under the bank’s Innovation and Digitalisation Growth Finance  programme will allow the fintech – Izicap to accelerate product innovation, recruit additional staff and expand its presence in European markets, in particular in France, Portugal and Italy. This EIB support will also allow Izicap to expand its global and regional partnerships.

Speaking at the signature event at Web Summit in Lisbon, EIB Vice President, Ricardo Mourinho Félix said: “The EIB is committed to financing companies investing in innovation and digitalisation. The agreement officialised today at Web Summit will help this innovative start-up to provide a Customer Relationship Management and loyalty solution to small companies severely hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to better serve their customers. Web Summit welcomes tech companies taking innovation steps to grow and Izicap’s has the right digital ambitions to become a future leading fintech in Europe.”

Commenting on the agreement, Izicap’s co-founder and CEO Reda El Meijad said: “we are democratizing the use of data from payment terminals and giving small merchants the means to prosper. We are delighted to have obtained this financing from the EIB, which will enable us to strengthen our deployment strategy with international banks and acquirers.”

Innovative software as a service solution

Izicap is a fintech SME that has developed a Software as a service (SaaS) solution enabling local brick-and-mortar merchants to transform consumer payments into a loyalty card rapidly. Once a customer has joined the loyalty programme, the merchant can build-up a rich Customer Relationship Management database to deliver payment benefits to consumers. 

The new service empowers local merchants with tools usually only accessible to larger corporates and brands, while enabling them to send personalised offerings to customers through vouchers and cashbacks. In the current period, where inflation rates are soaring in many European countries, such rewards can help alleviate the adverse effects of eroding purchasing power.

This investment directly supports the creation of more than 60 permanent jobs, primarily new product and technology jobs located in the EU, and contributes to generating significant positive externalities through the creation of innovative processes, products or services and through skills development and upgrading. 

Venture Debt: The role and impact on innovative corporates

The recent EIB ECON study on “EIB Venture Debt: The role and impact on innovative corporates” (2022) that analysed the EIB venture debt portfolio since 2015 to mid-2021 has shown that firms receiving EIB venture debt managed on average to attract circa 2.5 times additional long-term debt, showing a significant crowd-in effect. They also reported increased sales by 30% and productivity by 50%, and a reduction in their cost of debt. 

An operational team from the EIB attended Web Summit to present the bank’s venture debt product to growth companies at Web Summit.

Background information:

IZICAP is an innovative CRM and loyalty platform linked to the credit card that transforms local merchants’ payment terminals into a powerful marketing tool. Through its Smart Data platform, IZICAP processes billions of transaction data and provides local businesses with unique insights to expand their digital presence, build customer loyalty and drive sales. IZICAP works closely with leading banks and acquirers across Europe to enable over 10,000 merchants to thrive.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investments in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. The European Investment Bank (EIB) issues long-term loans on behalf of the European Union. 

The EIB’s venture debt product is a financing instrument that supports start-up and fast-growing innovative companies in cutting-edge technology sectors. It combines the advantages of a long-term loan with a remuneration model based on the company’s performance. Venture debt transactions help strengthen the borrower’s economic capital without diluting the shares of existing investors. 

Web Summit is an annual technology conference with more than 70 000 attendees held in Lisbon, Portugal. It is considered one of the largest and most important tech events in the world.


Press contacts:

EIB: David Yormesor, yormesor@eib.org
Website: www.eib.org/press – Press Office: press@eib.org

Izicap: Coralie Michard, c.michard@izicap.com