The high Norman territory of economic, geographical and environmental assets. Nevertheless, it needs to consolidate and improve the adaptability of its economy in order to enhance its attractiveness. The renewal of investments and the modernisation of tools are insufficient, especially for TPEs and SMEs. In its 2 strategic schemes SREDEEII/SRESRI, the Region thus affirms its desire to make the region a land of business and research and to support a greater number of SMEs. By virtue of its economic competence and its role as manager of the ERDF funds, it mobilises axis 1 of its ERDF OP for regional economic competitiveness. Indeed, there are challenges to investment and financing of TPEs/SMEs. One of the conditions is to simplify access to SME/PET bank financing. To this end, the region will be able to rely on the co-construction with Bpifrance of the ERDF Regional Fund. The fund will jointly mobilise ERDF and regional resources, limited in two dedicated strands, with a leverage effect on private funding. The fund will be managed by Bpifrance, which will control the risk and bear the risk of depletion of the fund. It will act as a bank guarantee to address funding gaps, specifically on risky creative and transfer-recovery segments.The ex ante evaluation identifies significant financing needs for both innovative start-ups, growth SMEs and transfer/retakers SMEs. The cumulative needs for these different phases range from EUR 1 076 to EUR 1 170 million/year. It highlights in particular the need to support segments: start-up phases, creation, post-creation/development of enterprises/business takeover to ensure that decision-making centres are maintained in the territory.In coherence and to support the economic strategy of the region, the ERDF regional fund will act as a bank guarantee in order to facilitate SMEs’ access to bank credit, particularly in the risky phases of business start-up and transfer/takeover. The bank guarantee is a good channel of financing in these often expensive phases, in which banks intervene under optimally in view of their importance to the regional economy. The challenge of SMEs’ competitiveness and territorial growth requires concerted public action. The added value of the Structural Funds is real for the sustainability and development of SMEs. Over the period 2007-2013, EU funds have enabled businesses to modernise their productive machinery and to cope with the economic and social crisis of 2009. The Fund will provide a complementary response to the ERDF regional offer in the form of a grant and as a priority in segments not sufficiently covered by the market as risky and expensive (creation, take-over/transmission). The intervention will also be consistent with other forms of regional intervention, in particular implemented by Bpifrance (FRG), as well as Bpifrance’s interventions on national and/or European resources. To this end, the Regional Directorate of Bpifrance will ensure that the instrument is implemented in close proximity, in conjunction with the services of the Region. On the other hand, the positioning of Bpifrance in the banking ecosystem, the fund will increase the spread of European financing to companies: the guarantee granted under the Fund shall be open to all Lender Institutions approved by the Board of Directors of Bpifrance. In line with the priorities of the OP 2014-2020 and the Regional Economic Development Scheme, it will guarantee up to 70 % free of charge the risk of final loss of medium-term bank financing (maximum 10 years), granted to SMEs and on all programmes