Financing innovation has been the focus of activities of the EIB Group in 2021. The Group, consisting of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), invested €3.143 billion into innovation and digitalization. Especially the EIF has increased its financing for start-ups in Germany. Last year, the Group provided total financing of €5.5 billion (2020: €6.9 billion) in this country. The second most important area of investment was infrastructure, with €1.2 billion of financing. Rolling stock for regional railways has been the main area of growing demand here. Due to the pandemic, the EIB has also invested heavily into SMEs which have been affected by measures to combat COVID-19.

Financing innovation has been the focus of activities of the EIB Group in 2021. The Group, consisting of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), invested €3.143 billion into innovation and digitalization. Especially the EIF has increased its financing for start-ups in Germany. Last year, the Group provided total financing of €5.5 billion (2020: €6.9 billion) in this country. The second most important area of investment was infrastructure, with €1.2 billion of financing. Rolling stock for regional railways has been the main area of growing demand here. Due to the pandemic, the EIB has also invested heavily into SMEs which have been affected by measures to combat COVID-19.