About Microfinance Ireland (MFI) :  Microfinance Ireland as a not-for-profit lender, was established to deliver the Government’s Microenterprise Loan Fund. Since being set up in late 2012, it has approved €14.1m in loans to 944 businesses supporting 2,148 jobs, across all sectors of business and in every county across the country  Microfinance  Ireland  provide  an alternative source of funding to micro-enterprises* – both new and existing, who may be having difficulties in accessing finance from commercial providers and ultimately supports the creation and/or retention of jobs.

In 2015 approximately two-thirds of approved loans went to support Start-Up companies, with the remainder going to existing small businesses that were looking to expand and develop.

  * Micro-enterprises are defined as any business with less than 10 employees and annual turnover of less than €2M.