One of the three new financing tools of the Hellenic Development Bank was activated. The Digital Upgrade Loans Program was created to provide favorable terms for investment loans to SMEs, with a two-year partial interest subsidy and interest-free 40% of the capital, which will undertake the implementation of digitization investment projects and digital upgrading of their operations.

Objective of the program

The support of small and medium enterprises for the financing of business plans, in order to digitize and digitally upgrade their operations/activities with the aim of increasing their productivity, their enlargement and the creation of new jobs.

It concerns small and medium-sized enterprises that maintain an establishment, operate legally in the Greek Territory and have been established up to the time of submitting the financing application to the Credit Institution.

Maximum loan amount

The amount of the loan ranges from €25,000 to €1,000,000.

State aid framework

The state aid framework to which the Business Digital Upgrade Fund falls is Regulation (EU) no. 1407/2013 (De Minimis).

Co-financing scheme

The Fund pays for each loan 40% of the capital without interest, while the remaining 60% is granted through the Credit Institution. Additionally, the Fund subsidizes part of the interest rate applied by the Credit Institution to its funds (3%) for the first 2 years of the loan (from the 1st disbursement).

Budget

The initial budget of the Fund amounts to €100 million. Including the participation of the Credit Institutions by 60% in each grant, additional funds of €150 million will be mobilized forming a total loan portfolio of up to €250 million. The program provides for interest subsidies for 2 years with additional funds of €9 million.

Financial advantage for the business

A. The financed company is fully exempt from interest for the part of the loan that is co-financed by the fund (ie 40% of each loan), given that this amount is provided by the Fund interest-free.

B. The Fund subsidizes part of the interest rate applied by the Credit Institution to its funds (ie 60% of each loan). The subsidy concerns the first 2 years of the loan (from the 1st disbursement) and will reduce the Credit Institution's interest rate by 3% (or otherwise by 300bps), which significantly reduces the overall cost of borrowing for the business.

C. Each Credit Institution that participates in the Fund is required to reduce the interest rate of each loan by at least 25 basis points (bps) per year from the interest rates it would apply to corresponding financing without the Fund's subsidy.

D. The maximum amount of real collateral that the Credit Institution may request in each financing may not exceed 100% of the loan capital.

Collaterals

The Credit Institution receives debt and/or real collateral, in accordance with its credit policy. The maximum amount of collateral that can be required cannot exceed 100% of the loan capital.

Loan duration

The duration of the loan can be from two (2) to ten (10) years with the possibility of obtaining a capital grace period of up to 24 months.

Loan Disbursement

The loan can be disbursed either in one go or in installments. The first disbursement of the loan must have been made by 30/06/2025, while the partial disbursements must have been completed within 36 months from the 1st disbursement and in any case by 30/6/2026, whichever date is earlier.

If you are interested in a loan with favorable terms from the programs of the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB), contact us immediately at 2108317702!