COFIDES

Organizational profile: The Compañía Española de Financiación del Desarrollo, COFIDES, is a state-owned trading company founded in 1988. COFIDES provides financing through medium and long-term debt and equity instruments for viable private investment projects abroad in which Spain has an interest. COFIDES also co-finance projects with the EU through blending schemes. In addition to its own resources, it manages the Foreign Investment Fund (FIEX) and the Fund for Foreign Investment Operations for Small and Medium Enterprises ( FONPYME ).

The global intervention capacity of COFIDES, through the mechanisms and financial instruments in which it participates, is nearly €2.5 billion. Since its creation, COFIDES has approved more than 1,000 projects in close to 90 countries through loans and equity participations. It has committed more than €3.5 billion for an investment of close to €39 billion.

COFIDES is currently undergoing the accreditation process for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that finances mitigation and adaptation projects to combat climate change in developing countries. COFIDES finances mitigation and adaptation projects with its own resources and with the FIEX and FONPYME funds. Moreover, it has participated since 2011 in the Interact Climate Change Facility (ICCF), whose purpose is to finance feasible private projects that contribute to mitigate climate change and promote energy efficiency in countries receiving Official Development Assistance.           

Financing Instrument: Equity, Loans

Project scale: COFIDES operates under a risk-sharing model whereby the volume of resources that COFIDES invests in a project does not generally exceed the contribution made by the developer to the project company. Through its financial products, COFIDES can contribute with amounts ranging from €75 000 to €35 million per project.

Recipient countries/regions/country groups: Global

Recipient categories: Businesses

Eligibility Criteria: COFIDES considers sustainable development to be a fundamental aspect in achieving proper corporate governance. To this end COFIDES typically promotes the internationalisation of a Spanish company through the financial investment they make, ensuring compatibility with economic growth and investment viability, with the end goal of protecting both the natural and social environment. In order to achieve this goal, COFIDES makes use of an environmental and social evaluation process, as an integral part of its due diligence procedures.

COFIDES financial instruments are tailored to the needs of each project as regards financial conditions, duration and the guarantees that need to be provided. COFIDES can finance the following project categories:

- Those with a Project Finance structure

- Cash flow from the international operation or assets of the project itself as the main guarantee

- Corporate guarantee from the developer

Application guidelines: Companies can present a project to COFIDES once they have identified the country or region, the sector, the amount and the impact on the development of the project area. COFIDES, as an accredited entity, is the interlocutor between the EU and the company and is in charge of the whole process. See https://www.cofides.es/en/presenta-tu-proyecto.