Investing instead of distributing money

JESSICA may only be a 4-year old toddler, but long queues are building up outside her door, although not with unselfish intent. She has EUR 1 bln to spend across Europe, mainly for the integrated growth of urban infrastructure Emil Górecki JESSICA, The Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas, is a programme that has been jointly set up by the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Council Development Bank. It is the road now being used to finance urban projects, which are the bread and butter of cities’ development plans. The money for such projects is channelled through special funds for the growth of urban areas or through trust funds. Such schemes can be brought into being through capital contributions, loans or bank guarantees. It is important to note that the source of financing can be combined with others, for instance with private capital.