Across the EU, an estimated 2.3 million current and potential microenterprises need access to microcredit — representing €16.5 billion in unmet demand. These are entrepreneurs trying to start, sustain and grow their businesses, yet many remain excluded from the financial resources they need.

The 2026 Financing Gap Report updates the 2020 baseline using fresh Eurostat, GEM and ECB SAFE survey data. The finding: despite real growth in the microfinance sector, demand has grown faster still — the gap is wider than it was in 2019, not narrower.

More and more people across Europe are becoming solo entrepreneurs, and many people at risk of social exclusion still struggle to access finance. The microfinance sector is growing, but not fast enough to keep up with this demand. The gap also looks different from country to country: in euro terms, it’s biggest in France, Italy and Germany, but as a share of what’s needed locally, it hits smaller markets hardest. In countries like Spain and Lithuania, though, current supply already covers a large share of demand.

Credit is only part of the story — hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs also need business development support to turn an idea into a sustainable enterprise.