Innovation, digitalisation, and jobs! €350m EIB loan brings massive boost to Amplifon in its EU territories

The initial four-year loan of €300m, out of an approved financing total of €350m, comes with the terms favourable to projects that contribute to EU policy. It will mainly benefit the company’s business in Italy, but also in Spain, France, Germany, and other EU countries.

Boost for remote audiology, as well as Amplfon’s cybersecurity

Several specific projects will be boosted by the investment this loan will finance:

• the development of a new audiological protocol to assess hearing ability and to identify the most suitable solution;
• the development of proprietary equipment (Otopad);
• further innovation of both the Amplifon app and Amplifon’s software and wireless interface for remote assistance;
• boosting the use of big data through the transition to cloud computing, thereby also strengthening the group’s cybersecurity;
• support for the gradual roll-out of the new Amplifon immersive store format, with an innovative and sustainable architectural design, to the main European countries as a key part of the Group’s distribution network renewal programme.

For Amplifon CEO Enrico Vita, the EU’s backing for the EIB finance “confirms that we are on the right path towards innovation and digital transformation, starting in Italy and the European Union.”

“We are directing increasing time and resources to develop new technologies and to the virtuous use of data to offer an ever-more personalised hearing experience to our customers, improving their quality of life. This financing will also enable us to further optimise our financial structure in terms of cost of funding and extension of average debt maturity,” continued Vita.

The hearing goal that underwrites the EIB’s support for Amplifon

At the Milan signing of the loan agreement this July 18, 2023, EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti explained her bank’s backing of Amplifon’s competitiveness: “Financing Amplifon is a testament to the EIB’s close relationship with this world-leading Italian company that improves the lives of people with hearing impairment, ensuring they can participate in society,” said Vigliotti.

Amplifon currently has some 19,400 employees and partners worldwide, and annual revenues of over €2billion. The Group operates through a network of over 9,300 points of sale in 25 countries and five continents.

Source: Amplifon