Within the first days of January the new facility will be fully operational Small Loan Fund for Rural Entrepreneurship of the HDB, which aims to funding very small, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the agricultural and manufacturing sector.

The Minister of Development and Investment, Adonis Georgiades and the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Georgios Georgantas had a working meeting with the President of HDB, George Zavvos and the Managing Director, Athina Hadjipetrou at the offices of HDB, where they were informed about the development of the programme and the response of the banking system.

The Fund is financed by the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020 with resources of 21,5 million. euro. The total funds to be received by the beneficiaries will exceed €40 million. euro. More than 2,500 agricultural and manufacturing businesses are expected to benefit.

The Hellenic Development Bank - HDB has already published the Call for Expression of Interest for the selection of the Financial Institutions that will participate in the Fund. Seven banks have expressed their interest.

It is noted that the new financial instrument introduces important advantages for the beneficiaries who will benefit, such as:

• 100% interest rate subsidy for the first two years of the five-year loan
• 50% reduced interest rate for the remaining three years of the loan
• Mentoring grant (mentoring)

The range of loans will be from €3,000 to €25,000 to farms and manufacturing businesses. No collateral will be required for the granting of the loans.