The Alternate Minister of Economy and Finance, Nikos Papathanassis, signed an amending decision to increase the resources of the Entrepreneurship Fund III (TEPIX III) adding an additional €200 million to further bolster SMEs and to expand access to financing for SMEs. This additional financing is allocated equally to the two branches of TEPIX III: the Loans Fund and the Guarantee Fund, thereby increasing the available budget of each Fund by €100 million.
In this context, the TEPIX III Loans Fund is being relaunched and as of today, Friday, 7 November, the “Know Your Customer” (KYC) platform of the Hellenic Development Bank is open for applications from interested enterprises.
The TEPIX III Loans Fund can finance an additional €240 million and the Guarantee Fund €540 million in new loans by leveraging bank monies.
This increase was decided on following absorption of the available resources for co-financed loans for investment purposes and working capital that have been granted so far by the TEPIX III Loans Fund, amounting to almost €700 million. At the same time, the TEPIX III Guarantee Fund, which remains open for new applications, has received a further boost with these additional national resources, improving its ability to offer financial support to SMEs by providing guarantees.
Key features of the two TEPIX III Funds:
– The Loans Fund will offer loans with 40% of the amount interest-free and subsidisation of 3% on interest for the remainder (60%) over 2 years. Overall the loans that will be provided through the TEPIX III Loans Fund may have up to 70% reduced interest rates for the first 2 years. Investment loans will have durations of from 5 to 12 years, with a grace period of 24 months. In the case of working capital loans, the duration is from 2 to 5 years, with a grace period of up to 12 months, during which the company does not repay capital but only interest.
– The Guarantee Fund provides security against credit risk by serving as guarantor for all eligible enterprises. More specifically, it will guarantee from 70% up to 80% of investment loans (from €10,000 up to €10 million), working capital and revolving credit loans (from €10,000 up to €500,000). Furthermore, it will subsidise interest rates for two years, up to two percentage points for enterprises in Attica and the South Aegean and up to three points for enterprises in the other Regions of Greece. No real collateral will be required for loans up to €50,000.
Click here to see the Press Release from the Ministry of National Economy and Finance
