The Innovation Guarantee Fund is the first financial instrument that aims to support innovative start-ups and existing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of any legal form, which promote research and innovation and which document their innovative character, through the of their business plan (Business Plan) and relevant supporting documents. The financial tool supports the competitiveness of innovative SMEs, combines for the first time the provision of a loan guarantee and a grant of 20% of the loan capital, offering investment loans & working capital, through the Banks participating in the Program.
It concerns Existing and Newly Established Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) which:
– meet at least one (1) of the Innovation Eligibility Criteria required to participate in the program (For example – Company registered in the register of Elevate Greece, – Business that has been strengthened in the past by programs to support research innovation and technological development, – Evidence that expenditure on research and innovation represents at least 5% of total operating expenditure, in at least one of the three previous years)
– are considered credit-acceptable in accordance with the applicable credit policy and the internal procedures of the credit institutions
– are bank current (have a debt < 90 days ) on the date of the application.
The maximum loan amount is €400,000 with a minimum of €25,000
The duration of the loan is set up to 10 years. Any grace period of 1 to 3 years is included.
Unique advantage of the grant up to 20%
Eligible businesses can apply for a grant of 15% to 20% of the loan amount when they have successfully completed their investment, based on checking the achievement of specific innovation criteria for the 15% and ESG criteria (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) for the additional 5%. Receiving the grant will correspondingly reduce the balance of their loan principal to be repaid.