1 March 2022 - Bucharest/Iași
112 people - natural and legal - have already decided to become shareholders of AFIN IFN SA.
&In March AFIN initiators will organize two întâlniti meetings with potential social investors in Iași (2 March) and București (10 March).
The AFIN IFN SA is a consortium mainly made up of the Foundation "Alături de Voi", FEBEA, the European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks and Patria Credit IFN SA.
AFIN will grant loans to economic operators with social impact in Romania.
„It gives us great joy to see that already more than 100 people have chosen to become founding shareholders of AFIN IFN SA. We are talking about people with social DNA who will form the foundation of this institution. AFIN IFN SA is a new model in Romania, built on the idea of participatory social investment, which will provide a social economy-oriented working strategy for social entrepreneurs. We as social entrepreneurs, who have developed one of the largest social insertion enterprises UtilDeco, authorized and as a protected unit, we know how necessary it is to have such a tool în market for innovation, digitalization and increased economic competitiveness”, explains Angela Achiței, president of the Foundation „Alături de Voi” România and founding member of AFIN IFN SA.
&Immercial investors meetings in Iasi and Bucharest
March will be dedicated to întâln meetings with social investors. The first physical meeting will take place in Iasi, on 2 March, and the next one will be in Bucharest, on 10 March. The main purpose of the întâlnniti is to attract new investors for AFIN IFN SA. At the întâlnniti will be presented în social enterprises, their business model, specific financing needs and how în AFIN will serve this market. „The social economy is the right answer to social problems in Romania. AFIN is the agent of significant change in Romania and Europe. We invite investors who want to stimulate the social enterprise sector in Romania to join us”, explains Ancuța Vameșu, social economy expert & President of RISE - Romanian Network of Social Inclusion Enterprises and founding member of AFIN IFN SA. People who are interested in participating in these întâlnitions should fill in the registration forms available on the website afin.org.ro.
Credits for social impact enterprises in Romania
AFIN IFN SA responds to a pressing need in the market: to ensure access to finance for economic operators with social impact in Romania. AFIN will offer alternative financial solutions to social economy organisations through flexible and accessible credit instruments (working capital loans, investment loans, bridging loans for co-financing European funds, etc.).
„&In addition to innovative and tailored lending products, AFIN IFN SA will base its operational model on three pillars. The origination of loan applications will be carried out by volunteers recruited from the pool of staff with relevant lending experience, covering the country. Digitisation of the lending process will be end-to-end and a crowdfunding platform will operate for co-funding and risk sharing. Last but not least, through the Social Finance Association, support will be provided for social economic operators to have a performing lending behaviour and support them for a sustainable development so that, later on, they will become eligible for the traditional banking system”, explains Bogdan Merfea, social banking promoter and founding member of AFIN IFN SA.
AFIN IFN SA comes with a new approach to financing policy, adapted to the specifics of the social economy. The institution will carry out a creditworthiness analysis taking into account both the economic and financial viability of the project and the social and environmental impact indicators specific to operators in this sector.
How can you become an AFIN shareholder?
Participating in the creation of AFIN IFN SA is done by sending a letter of commitment. The minimum fee to become a shareholder in AFIN IFN SA is 1,500 lei. The share capital deposit phase will end in March 2022.
The opening of applications for loans will take place in May 2022, during the European Social Economy Conference organized by ADV Romania. The first loans will be granted from July 2022. It is estimated that at least 25 loans will be granted in the first year of activity, rising to 170 new loans in the fifth year.
People interested in finding out more about how to become a shareholder of AFIN IFN SA, what the conditions and documents required are, can go directly to afin.org.ro.
