The TEPIX III Microcredit Fund is a financing tool for the Holding Fund’s Entrepreneurship Fund III (known as “TEPIX III” from the abbreviation of its Greek name) whose funds are co-financed by the European Social Fund+ (ESF+) of the European Union via the 2021-2027 Competitiveness Programme / NSRF.
The TEPIX III Microcredit Fund is a risk-sharing financial instrument for providing investment loans of up to 40% of all financing and special purpose working capital loans, which is implemented in the context of the Holding Fund’s Entrepreneurship Fund III (TEPIX III). Its objective is to support micro entities and natural persons engaged in individual business activity in accordance with the definition in Article 2 of Law 4308/2014 (Government Gazette 251/A) as amended by Law 5164/2024, with emphasis on female entrepreneurship, and other categories which may be specified in accordance with the provisions of Article 15(2) of Law 4701/2020 (Government Gazette 128/A/30.6.2020) who do not have access to traditional sources of financing through the banks. An important aspect of the Fund is the provision of mentoring to beneficiaries of the microfinancing.
To achieve this objective, loans are provided at favourable terms with interest-free financing from the Fund (i.e. 60% or 75% depending on the sub-programme).
Budget
The Fund’s public resources are €60 million which come from the European Social Fund+ (ESF+) of the European Union. Including the participation of Microfinance Institutions as financial intermediaries, there is a total loan portfolio of around €83 million.
The Holding Fund is managed by the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB).
Eligible Enterprises
For the General Entrepreneurship sub-programme:
- Micro entities, in accordance with the definition in Article 2 of Law 4308/2014 (Government Gazette 251/A) as amended by Law 5164/2024, which on the balance sheet date do not exceed the limits in at least two of the following three criteria (Law 4308/2014) during the financial year:
- Average number of staff less than or equal to 10.
- Total assets less than or equal to €450,000
- Net turnover less than or equal to €900,000.
- Natural persons engaged in individual business activity.
- Categories of enterprises which may be defined in accordance with the provisions of Article 15(2) of Law 4701/2020 (Government Gazette 128/A/30.6.2020).
For the Women’s Entrepreneurship sub-programme:
In addition to the above General Entrepreneurship eligibility criteria:
Enterprises of any legal form (with the exception of non-commercial associations under the civil code) where in the case of partnerships, the shareholder/partnership percentage with a holding of over 50% belongs to a woman and the enterprise is managed/represented by a woman. In the case of sole trader enterprises, the owner must be a woman.
For both categories of entrepreneurship, eligible enterprises are those which:
- operate lawfully in Greece;
- have been operating for at least one year since being established;
- at the time the application for inclusion in the Microcredit Fund was submitted, had not received approval for any other HDB programme after 1.1.2019.
Loan Amount
The loan can range from €3,000 to €25,000.
The loan term ranges from 12 to 96 months,with a 6-month grace period.
The loan amount will be disbursed lump sum or in phases within a period of two months from the date on which the loan agreement is signed and in all events before the end of the Eligibility Period, in other words before 31.12.2029.
The Microfinance Institution will receive only contractual collateral, in line with its credit policy.
Eligible Expenses
Eligible expenses means expenditure included in the enterprise’s business plan which has not been incurred (invoice payments) prior to the application for financing is submitted to the Microfinance Institution. Invoices on credit dated up to 6 months before the application for financing is submitted can be accepted.
Expenditure financed via the Microfinance Fund must relates to investment loans and working capital.
Co-financing scheme
The Fund pays 60% (for General Entrepreneurship) or 75% (for Women’s Entrepreneurship) of the capital interest-free for each loan, while the remaining 40% or 25% respectively is granted by the Microfinance Institution at an interest rate not exceeding the one which would normally be applied to such financing.
Moreover, no Law 128/1975 levy is imposed on microcredit agreements entered into with Microfinance Institutions governed by Law 4701/2020.
The financed enterprise is fully exempted from interest for that part of the loan co-financed by the Fund (60% of each loan for general entrepreneurship or 75% for female entrepreneurship) given that that amount is provided by the Fund interest-free.
The Microfinance Institution participating in the Fund is obliged to provide an interest rate which does not exceed that which it would apply to similar financing without the Fund’s participation, in accordance with the offer submitted in response to the HDB Call.
Consequently, the annual weighted average interest rate is lower than the interest rate that would apply to similar financing for non-co-financed programmes.
No real collateral is obtained for the purposes of granting the loan.
Submitting an application for financing
In order to join the Fund, the prospective enterprise submits an application:
- On the Know Your Customer (KYC) platform of the Hellenic Development Bank via the website https://kyc.hdb.gr/. For each completed application and after a series of eligibility criteria evaluations, the application is forwarded to the Microfinance Institutions chosen by the interested party for the submission of a non-binding offer. If the application is initially accepted, meaning the applicant receives a non-binding offer, a unique code is issued.
- To the Integrated State Aid Management Information System (iSAMIS), via the website https://app.opske.gr/, where the unique code from the HDB KYC platform for the Microfinance Institution is entered.
- To the Microfinance Institution from which it wishes to receive financing, and from which it has already received a non-binding offer via the KYC platform, so it can evaluate the application and the supporting documents required.
In addition, the enterprise must complete a self-assessment questionnaire on 3 key criteria: Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) on the HDB ESG Tracker platform, via the website https://esgtracker.hdb.gr/. This questionnaire must be filled out in order for the application for financing to be submitted to the Microfinance Institution. It should be clearly understood that the self-assessment results do not constitute a criterion for the enterprise’s eligibility for the programme.
Associated Microfinance Institutions
- AFI Microfinance
- Microsmart
- TMEDE Microfinance Solutions
Borrower training and mentoring
The Final Recipient will receive guidance on how to achieve its business plan via focused courses, the cost of which will be subsidised by the Fund. To this end, mentoring sessions will be held up to the sum of €900 per tax ID number. Final recipient (on the net value of the service invoice).
These advisory sessions, which are mandatory for the final recipient, will be conducted by the Intermediary Financial Institutions (either using their own means or via consultancy firms) and will be linked to the business plan of each investor in the context of the Fund.
For those seeking information about the Microfinance Fund, the HDB can be contacted in the following ways:
Opening hours
Monday to Friday
09:00 – 17:00
Phone: 211-1058660
Email: microfinance@hdb.gr
