HAMAG-BICRO: If an entrepreneur meets the criteria, we will write off part of the principal

Almost unnoticed was the comment by Marijana Oreb, a member of the management board of HAMAG-BICRO, who spoke at Lider’s Investment Conference about what HAMAG-BICRO offers to entrepreneurs and what entrepreneurs can expect from the agency.

Oreb discussed the implementation of a combination of financial instruments and grants anticipated in the new programming period, in which there will be a write-off of part of the principal if the entrepreneur meets the criteria that will be prescribed by the programs themselves.

As she emphasized, the write-off of the principal is planned for the implementation of two financial instruments.

These are micro investment loans up to 25,000 euros and small investment loans up to 100,000 euros.

Regarding micro investment loans, this is a program established in cooperation with the competent Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy as part of the ‘Efficient Human Potential 2021 – 2027’ Program.

And when it comes to small investment loans, this is a program established with the competent Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development as part of the ‘Competitiveness and Cohesion Program 2021 – 2027.’

Currently, the conditions of the Program are being defined with the competent ministries, but the loan write-off planned in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy will be focused or conditioned on employment, while the loan planned in cooperation with MRRFEU will be focused on green and digital transition. For now, the percentages of write-offs are being defined, which will ultimately be decided by the competent ministry, she concluded, but as we unofficially learned, it concerns write-offs of up to 49 percent.

A Range of Services

HAMAG-BICRO also stated that they offer entrepreneurs a whole range of services through financing programs via non-repayable grants, guarantees, and loans with the most favorable interest rates on the market, as well as programs to encourage research, development, and innovation. So far, HAMAG-BICRO has stimulated nearly 4 billion euros in investments in more than 21,045 entrepreneurial projects through various entrepreneurship support programs, creating a prerequisite for the opening of more than 33,553 new jobs.

Currently, for small business entities, they offer a Micro loan for working capital up to 25,000 euros with an interest rate of 0.5-1 percent. Besides working capital, this instrument is also intended for production preparation, raw materials and materials, commercial goods, rental of business premises, employee costs, and overhead costs. The usage period is 3 months from the loan disbursement, with a grace period of up to 6 months if the repayment is at least 2 years. Loan applications are submitted electronically, and the list of required documentation can be found on the official websites. So far, the Agency has approved 1,209 ESIF Micro loans for OBS amounting to 25,524,861.78 euros. Currently, another 207 loans amounting to 4,818,556.65 euros are being processed.