What ELKARGI does

ELKARGI, S.G.R. (Elkargi Sociedad de Garantía Recíproca) is a Basque regional mutual guarantee society founded in 1980 and headquartered in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. Operating under regulatory oversight from Banco de España and the Government of the Basque Country, ELKARGI provides loan guarantees, direct financing, and complementary advisory services that enable SMEs, autónomos (self-employed professionals), and entrepreneurs in the Basque Country and Navarre to access bank and alternative financing they could not obtain independently. As a Sociedad de Garantía Recíproca, the firm operates a cooperative ownership model in which client-companies are also members ('Nuestros clientes, son nuestros dueños'), with two wholly-owned subsidiaries — ELKARGI Consultores SLU (consulting) and METIX Gestión de Riesgos SL (risk management) — extending the offering.

The product portfolio spans financing products (Circulante Aranceles working capital up to €450M, EFX international trade finance, Préstamo Innovación at 3.04%, the €50M Fondo de Deuda para Pymes, and ICO Crecimiento / ICO Crecimiento Exportadores lines), digital platforms (Elkargi Online for online financing requests and Crowdlending Bizkaia, the world's first public crowdlending platform with 100% guaranteed loans), consulting services (corporate finance, EFK financial control software suite, subsidy management), and the Escuela de Finanzas training school. Distribution combines five regional offices with digital self-service and institutional partnerships with ICO, Kenta Capital, CERSA, Sodena, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, and Basque Trade & Investment.

Revenue mechanics are anchored in guarantee commissions on a €480M annual financing book (FY2025), supplemented by consulting fees from corporate finance and restructuring engagements, EFK software subscriptions, and training course fees (€210–€3,350 per course). In FY2025 the company facilitated financing exceeding €480M (+15.5% YoY), served 1,620 companies, generated over €10M in value, and maintained a 17% solvency ratio — more than double the 8% Banco de España minimum — providing substantial capital headroom for continued guarantee book expansion.

Name

ELKARGI

Legal name

Elkargi Sociedad de Garantía Recíproca

Website

https://elkargi.es

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ELKARGI is a Basque Country mutual guarantee society (SGR) that provides loan guarantees, direct financing, consulting, and training to SMEs, self-employed professionals, and entrepreneurs across the Basque Country, Navarre, and Madrid.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

SME Financing and Guarantees

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (52231), Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163), Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

SBA/Government-Backed & Development Finance Loans (FSAKAGAI)

Keywords

• Mutual guarantee society
• SME financing
• Loan guarantees
• Corporate finance advisory
• Financial training

Headquarters

HQ city

Donostia-san Sebastián

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Guarantee fees (Comisiones de aval): Revenue from guaranteeing loans and financial operations for SMEs, charging commissions for the risk assumption
2. Consulting services: Fees from corporate finance, restructuring, subsidy management and financial control consulting services
3. Training courses: Revenue from financial training programs including open enrollment and in-company courses

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ELKARGI is a Sociedad de Garantía Recíproca (mutual guarantee society) that provides loan guarantees and financing solutions to SMEs, self-employed professionals, entrepreneurs and large enterprises in Spain. The company underwrites guarantees to enable access to bank financing, distributes and originates financing products (working capital, international trade finance, innovation loans, debt funds, ICO programs), and complements these with corporate finance consulting, financial control tooling, and structured training through Escuela de Finanzas. Its activity is concentrated in the Basque Country and Navarre with a strategic Madrid office.

Product overview

ELKARGI is a Basque regional financial entity (Sociedad de Garantía Recíproca - SGR) providing a comprehensive suite of financial solutions for SMEs and entrepreneurs. The offering consists of financing products (working capital, international trade finance, innovation loans, debt funds, ICO programs), consulting services (corporate finance, financial control tools, subsidy management), and financial training through its Escuela de Finanzas. The portfolio includes specialized products like the €50 million Fondo de Deuda para Pymes, the Préstamo Innovación at 3.04%, and the ICO Crecimiento Exportadores line (€750M). The company also operates Crowdlending Bizkaia as a public crowdlending platform. ELKARGI serves clients across the Basque Country (Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba) and Navarre, with expansion to Madrid.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Elkargi online: Digital platform for online financing requests and management
• Escuela de Finanzas
• Crowdlending Bizkaia

Products and services

• Circulante Aranceles Working capital financing solution providing SMEs, large enterprises and other professionals with access to financing up to €450 million to support operational liquidity needs.
• EFX – Elkargi Financial Expansion International trade financing service offering export advances, confirming, import financing, and technical guarantees to support companies' cross-border commercial activities.
• Préstamo Innovación Innovation loan offered at a 3.04% interest rate as alternative financing for SMEs undertaking innovation projects, developed with the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and Solventis, with no opening fees.
• Fondo de Deuda para el Crecimiento de Pymes €50 million debt fund for SME growth in País Vasco and Navarra, offering financing up to €4 million per transaction in bullet format and terms up to 7 years, targeting companies with turnover up to €50 million seeking expansion, transformation or inorganic growth.
• ICO Crecimiento Direct ICO financing from €50,000 for investment projects including machinery purchases, industrial buildings, or corporate acquisitions, offered at competitive conditions with diversified funding beyond traditional banking.
• ICO Crecimiento Exportadores Exporters growth financing line within the €750 million ICO allocation, offering up to 100 basis points interest-rate bonus and a non-reimbursable tranche of up to 30% of nominal loan (maximum €200,000 per operation) for SMEs with international activity.
• Corporate Finance Advisory Corporate finance consulting including business valuation, debt restructuring, viability planning, and debt restructuring analysis to support companies in strategic decisions and financial optimization.
• EFK | Reporting, Tesorería, Costes Suite of financial control tools comprising EFK Reporting for financial reporting, EFK Tesorería for treasury management, and EFK Costes for cost management and control, sold to companies for ongoing financial control.
• Gestión de Subvenciones Subsidy and grant management service covering business investment, digitization, R&D+i and innovation support, helping companies identify and access available public funding.
• Escuela de Finanzas Financial education school offering open-enrollment courses (e.g., Finanzas para no financieros from €430, Gestión del circulante from €310, Valoración de Empresas from €210, Programa Ejecutivo en Finanzas Estratégicas from €3,350), plus in-company (In Company) programs and FUNDAE subsidized training.
• Crowdlending Bizkaia Public crowdlending platform (the world's first) enabling individuals and legal entities to finance companies in Bizkaia through 100% guaranteed loans with returns of Euribor + 1.75%, terms of 1–5 years, and ticket sizes from €50,000 to €300,000, with ELKARGI serving as primary guarantor.
• Elkargi Online Digital platform enabling SMEs and entrepreneurs to request financing online through an automated process, providing access to ELKARGI's financial solutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15.5% growth in fiscal year 2025 with financing activity exceeding €480 million
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bizkaia CrowdfundingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 10 March 2026Operates Crowdlending Bizkaia, the world's first public crowdlending platform. ELKARGI serves as primary guarantor enabling 100% guaranteed loans for validated Bizkaia companies.
• Seed Capital BizkaiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelects and validates companies for Crowdlending Bizkaia platform, ensuring quality deal flow for the public financing system.
• Basque Trade & InvestmentminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-hosts international expansion webinars (Zabaldu+ program) to help SMEs access export financing and international markets.
• CESCEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresident Pablo de Ramón-Laca featured at FINANZA event on export financing and international market support.
• COFIDESminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresident Ángela Pérez featured at FINANZA event discussing financing tools for international expansion.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Iberaval: Spanish mutual guarantee society (SGR) headquartered in Castilla y León, providing guarantees, financing and advisory to SMEs in its home region. Directly comparable to ELKARGI in business model, regulatory structure, and target customer segment.
• Avalmadrid: Madrid-based SGR offering guarantees and financing solutions to SMEs, self-employed, and entrepreneurs. Operates the same mutual guarantee model as ELKARGI and serves as the natural Madrid-region peer given ELKARGI's recent Madrid office expansion.
• Oinarri SGR: Basque Country SGR focused on SME guarantees and financing. Competes with ELKARGI directly within the same regional market, offering similar guarantee and intermediation services.
• Avalis de Catalunya: Catalan SGR providing financial guarantees and credit intermediation to SMEs and entrepreneurs in Catalonia. Closely mirrors ELKARGI's SGR structure and SME-focused product set.
• ISBA SGR: Balearic Islands SGR providing guarantees and financing to regional SMEs. Operates the same mutual guarantee model as ELKARGI under Spanish SGR regulation.
• Afianzamientos y Garantías (Afianza): Spanish surety and guarantee provider focused on SMEs. Comparable in guarantee product focus, though structured as a commercial surety firm rather than mutual society.
• Sonaval SGR: Andalusian SGR providing guarantees, financing, and advisory services to SMEs in southern Spain. Shares ELKARGI's SGR model and SME target segment.

Others

• ICO (Instituto de Crédito Oficial): Spain's state-owned financial institution providing wholesale funding lines to SMEs through partner banks and SGRs. Already a partner of ELKARGI for ICO Crecimiento lines, but operates as upstream capital provider rather than direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• CESCE: Spanish export credit agency and trade credit insurer. Operates in adjacent SME risk and trade finance space, and has partnered with ELKARGI on the FINANZA event for export financing. Comparable in supporting SME internationalization but with a different product set (insurance vs. guarantees).
• Coface: Global trade credit insurer serving SMEs and mid-market companies with credit insurance, guarantee, and receivables management products. Comparable to ELKARGI's international trade finance and guarantee activity at a global scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ELKARGI_SGR
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCYr7VlgPpsnEkmggDIvtbvA
• LinkedInes.linkedin.com/company/elkargi
• Instagraminstagram.com/elkargi/?hl=es

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ELKARGI