Alternate Finance Minister Nikos Papathanasis announced the launch of the new Entrepreneurship Fund, TEPIX III, at a press conference at the offices of the Hellenic Development Bank.
It was preceded by the signing of the 12 business agreements between the Hellenic Development Bank and the cooperating commercial banks.
In the context of TEPIX III, with a budget of 500 million euros, it is expected that loans amounting to 2.2 billion euros will be made available to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) – with leverage through the banking system – on particularly favorable terms, expanding the circle of financed SMEs and their lending perimeter. It is the first time that the combination of the loan guarantee with the interest rate subsidy is provided.
At the press conference that followed the signing of the Agreements with the 12 banks, Papathanasis, underlined: “The launch of the new Entrepreneurship Fund is yet another practical proof of the strategic importance that the government attaches to support for entrepreneurship, especially small and medium sized enterprises. The goal is to cover the investment gap created by the economic crisis, improve competitiveness and create new and better-paid jobs for all our fellow citizens.
Committed to the plan to strengthen entrepreneurship, with realism and development, through the European resources that Kyriakos Mitsotakis secured through his negotiation, we contribute with financial tools to wider access to the banking sector, providing low-interest loans and securing the required guarantee.”
