SMEs to get plenty of funding
Banks intend to help small and medium-sized enterprises invest, on top of EU financing
2023 as the year of small and medium-sized enterprises, as it is they that will benefit from the programs of the investment incentives law, the new National Strategic Reference Framework of the European Union (known in Greece as ESPA), and the Recovery and Resilience Fund, which has opened its doors to both small and medium-sized enterprises, offering low-interest loans for the part originating from the RRF.
Through the Competitiveness program and the two actions for the digital and green transitions, which are expected at the end of the month, the new ESPA opens the subsidies phase together with the investment incentives chapter and will act as reinforcement in the investment initiatives of SMEs with the aim of adapting them to the new environment of the digital age and green entrepreneurship.
The financial budgets of banks for SME support are bolstered by the programs of the Hellenic Development Bank, which are already running and ensure financing on favorable terms, as well as those which are to be launched within 2023, whose total budget is estimated to reach 2 billion euros. Based on the design of the new Hellenic Development Bank programs, the cost of money will be reduced by at least 40%, while the interest rate will be subsidized for the first few years, in the case of development investment projects.
The financial options banks provide through the established lines of liquidity for working capital and financing of investment projects are complemented by the collaborations that have been initiated and are renewed every year with supranational organizations, such as the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The first programs have already appeared at banks and are expected to be enriched by the end of the first quarter, aiming through the facilities they provide – such as the guarantee of part of the loan – to ensure better pricing conditions, at a time when interest rates are hurting SMEs.