The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €70 million Scale-Up Debt financing agreement with Scalapay, an Italian fintech founded in 2019 and now among Europe’s leading players in the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) sector.
The announcement was signed in Milan by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and Scalapay CEO Simone Mancini. It is the first time that the EIB has provided direct financing to an Italian unicorn company.
The EIB funds will help bolster Scalapay’s range of payment sector products and services, making the end-user experience simpler and more comprehensive. These investments will enable Scalapay to continue consolidating its position as a European leader in smart financial solutions and interactive services.
“This EIB financing will strengthen the European digital payment ecosystem, backing a company that has grown rapidly with a focus on technology, security and service quality,” said EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti. “Our TechEU investment programme aims to support the most innovative companies at every stage of their development: from the initial idea to stock exchange listing and beyond. This will foster innovation and competitiveness, ensuring that our tech champions can grow and stay in Europe.”
“We are delighted to announce this agreement,” said Scalapay CEO Simone Mancini. “In addition to underlining the EIB’s trust in our company, the financing will enable us to further accelerate the growth of Scalapay, broaden our product range and better support the development of the markets where we operate. It is another step forward for the company. For our customers, it means more products and better flexibility to meet their needs.”
The agreement between the EIB and Scalapay involves €70 million in Scale-Up Debt financing – a financial instrument developed under TechEU, the EIB Group’s investment programme designed to boost innovation and strengthen Europe’s technological leadership. TechEU aims to invest €70 billion in equity, quasi-equity, loans and guarantees over the 2025–2027 period, with the goal of mobilising €250 billion in real-economy investments. Through Scale-Up Debt, the EIB supports highly innovative companies during their pre-IPO growth phase without diluting founders’ or private investors’ ownership. The operation also benefits from the support of the European Union through the InvestEU programme, for which the EIB Group is the main implementing partner.
Background information
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight key priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.
