Southern Mediterranean: EU presents new €80M fund for sustainable jobs and social impact

The European Commission, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and KfW Development Bank launch the Social Entrepreneurship Fund (SEF) of €80M, a" flagship initiative of the Pact for the Mediterranean, to boost sustainable jobs and social impact", they announce on 02/06/2026.

First, an equity fund of €45M is launched, "with the respective contributions of €15M and €39M, the European Commission and BMZ are anchor investors in the first EU-backed fund in the region to support social entrepreneurs scale up their businesses".

Anara Impact Capital, an impact venture capital firm investing across the Middle East & North Africa, is acting as fund manager for the equity Fund.

The SEF will also include a debt fund of €35M to be launched later in the year "to support the needs of small social enterprises, along with a Technical Assistance Facility to provide specialised advice and expertise to the participating social enterprises", partners say.

According to the Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica, "by supporting financing mechanisms such as the SEF, the…