The Deputy General of Bizkaia, Elixabete Etxanobe, presents, alongside the Director General of Elkargi, Zenon Vázquez, an alternative financing instrument promoted by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. This instrument enables companies in the region to innovate and expand, whilst offering financiers returns close to 4% with full guarantee through the endorsement of a Reciprocal Guarantee Company.
The Deputy General of Bizkaia, Elixabete Etxanobe, has presented Crowdlending Bizkaia, the world’s first public service offering collective loans for companies that enables individuals and legal entities to jointly finance businesses in Bizkaia through 100% guaranteed loans. Elkargi is the main Reciprocal Guarantee Company that guarantees these loans and the strategic partner of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia in this pioneering initiative. Zenón Vázquez, CEO of Elkargi, accompanied the Deputy General at the press conference.
Crowdlending Bizkaia enables citizens to finance companies from Bizkaia that have been selected by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia through its company Seed Capital Bizkaia, from as little as 500 euros with no risk. It also provides the local business community with a new alternative to traditional banking for financing, supporting innovation, growth, environmentally responsible projects, social commitments, and strong governance models. Participants will receive quarterly interest linked to Euribor + 1.75%. With the current Euribor around 2%, the annual return is approximately 4%.
Elixabete Etxanobe, Deputy General of Bizkaia, stated that “Crowdlending Bizkaia is an initiative that allows something very simple but very important: to connect the savings of citizens with the business projects that are building the future of Bizkaia. It is a crowdfunding tool through loans that allows, on the one hand, our companies to innovate and grow. And, on the other hand, citizens can invest in real projects and obtain a profit. And it is not about investing in any project, but in projects that meet social, environmental, and governance commitment criteria.”
Zenón Vázquez, CEO of Elkargi, emphasised that “alternative financing is a key element to strengthen the competitiveness of our companies. It enables diversification of financing sources, greater flexibility, and the ability to tackle projects that, due to their structure or size, find it more difficult to finance through traditional banking. At Elkargi, we remain committed to promoting tools that add value and support the growth and strengthening of our SMEs in an increasingly demanding environment. Through public-private collaboration, we enhance capabilities, multiply the impact, and reinforce the growth of our SMEs.»
First active operations: Ziur Water Services and RK Solutions
Crowdlending Bizkaia has launched its first two financing operations. The first involves Ziur Water Services, which is seeking a round of €50,000. Ziur Water Services is a Bilbao-based company that develops technological solutions for the water cycle, with a particular emphasis on intelligent management systems, water efficiency, and advanced water treatment.
The second operation, led by RK Solutions, requires 200,000 euros. It is a technology company based in Gernika-Lumo that specialises in creating digital solutions to optimise business and industrial processes. The funding will strengthen its operations and support its growth in improving the operational efficiency of SMEs within the territory.
Both operations have been approved by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia through Seed Capital Bizkaia following a technical and financial analysis that evaluates solvency, viability, and compliance with the programme’s strategic and sustainability criteria.
Crowdlending Bizkaia: alternative financing
Crowdlending Bizkaia is an alternative financing tool that combines methods beyond traditional bank loans, such as venture capital or participatory financing, allowing companies to diversify their sources of financial resources.
In crowdlending, multiple individuals contribute capital via an online platform until each round reaches the designated amount (between 50,000 and 300,000 euros). This sum is then granted as a loan to a Bizkaia-based company, selected in advance by Seed Capital Bizkaia. Transactions are managed via Bizkaia Crowdfunding, a platform overseen by the CNMV (registered as a Participatory Financing Service Provider).
Legal certainty and complete guarantee
Elkargi, a Reciprocal Guarantee Company, fully guarantees the operations with the support of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. This guarantees that both the principal borrowed and the interest are protected.
The general conditions of the instrument are:
- Minimum funding starting at €500
- Annual return: 3-month Euribor + 1.75%
- Payback period ranging from one to four years
- Quarterly principal and interest payments
- Active campaigns can take up to 45 days to achieve the goal.
The platform evaluates each funded individual in accordance with European regulations, considering their income, savings ability, training, and investment experience, and classifies them into two groups: experienced or inexperienced. Natural and legal persons with a basic profile can lend up to €3,000 per transaction, providing sufficient protection for those with less experience. Borrowers repay the principal along with interest on a quarterly basis as the company processes the loan repayments.
In the event of an early cancellation by the company, the lenders will receive all outstanding principal. The amount will be paid through a payment gateway; an online payment institution authorised by the Bank of Spain, through which the payments are made, the money is transferred or reinvested in another company proposed by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia.
Advantages for companies in Bizkaia
This service is available only to companies that have been based in Bizkaia for at least 2 years. Preference will be given to models that are innovative, environmentally responsible, socially engaged, and/or well-governed.
Crowdlending Bizkaia offers:
- Funding that complements traditional banking
- Amounts ranging from €50,000 to €300,000
- Publicising their innovative and sustainable commitment
- Institutional backing
Seed Capital Bizkaia selects companies that access the platform, ensuring they are solvent, viable, and strategically aligned.
Investor Training Programme
In the second phase, once the initial operations have been established, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia aims to organise targeted training to promote a culture of financing and investment among participants in its proposals, with the goal of building a community.
The objective is to support primarily individuals with financial capacity and an investment inclination, but who have a certain risk aversion, tailoring the content to the actual profile of the resulting community.
A consolidated public-private financial ecosystem
Crowdlending Bizkaia is part of the financial ecosystem managed by Seed Capital Bizkaia, which in 2025 completed 23 transactions totalling more than 4.5 million euros across its various funds. Two of these, the BI and BAF funds, recently received an additional 8 million euros from the Provincial Council of Bizkaia to further support Bizkaia’s business sector.
With this new service, Bizkaia once again leads institutionally, innovating to improve access to financing for its companies and direct private savings towards the region’s economic growth.
