The call for expressions of interest to banks to participate in the Business Growth Fund has been published.

The call is addressed to financial institutions operating in Greece for their participation in theBusiness GrowthFund. The manager is Hellenic Development Bank The deadline for submission of expressions of interest is 3 May 2023.

The purpose of the Portfolio Fund is to support and develop business activity in order for SMEs to cope with the effects of the ten-year financial crisis and the pandemic in terms of lack of access to sources of finance, as well as to improve the terms of financing.

Which individual funds are concerned

The call relates to the following individual funds as follows:

- Green Co-financing Loans: The financial instrument will provide co-financed investment loans with interest-free financing at 40% of the loan. Also a two-year partial interest rate subsidy on the remaining 60%, to SMEs operating mainly in the sectors:

• of Energy efficiency/transition
• strengthening the chain of green service providers
• the protection of the environment, and
• the development of renewable energy sources

- Digitalization Co-Financing Loans. The financial instrument will provide co-financed investment loans to SMEs with interest-free financing at 40% of the loan. Also a two-year partial interest rate subsidy on the remaining 60%, so that they can receive loans for the purpose of digitization and digital upgrading of their operations/activities, with the aim of:

• increasing their productivity
• their enlargement
• the creation of new high value-added jobs

- Liquidity Co-Financing Loans (Liquidity Co-Financing Loans). The financial instrument will provide co-financed working capital loans to SMEs with interest-free financing at 40% of the loan. Also a two-year partial interest rate subsidy on the remaining 60% exclusively toe SMEs that have not previously received a business loan through EAT's programmes. Objective:

• facilitating the smooth operation of the business cycle
• addressing the increased energy costs under the current exceptional market conditions (rising energy costs, raw material prices, inflationary pressures)
• protecting and increasing jobs
• maintaining/increasing their competitiveness

This will enable them to successfully meet the challenges of modern entrepreneurship by successfully covering their increased operating costs.

Purpose of the Portfolio Fund

By the number 21615/FEK B 1574/15.03.2023 of the Ministry of Justice, the Portfolio Fund was established under the name "business growth fund" as a separate financing unit within the Hellenic Development Bank. Purpose supporting and developing business activity in order to cope with the effects of the ten-year economic crisis and the pandemic, regarding the lack of access to sources of finance.

The resources of the Portfolio Fund amount to €840,000,000 and come from:

• a financial contribution from the Public Investment Programme of EUR 440.000.000 and
• from a financial contribution from the financial contribution from the No 92.378/22.06.21 Financing Agreement between the Hellenic Republic and the EIB amounting to EUR 400.000.000

The call is for the mobilisation - in a first phase - of 575 million euros of the Fund. of which:

• 305 cm. EUR 1.5 million is a financial contribution from the Public Investment Programme (PIP) and
• 270 cm. EUR 1,5 million from the EUR 1,5 million from the EUR 1,5 million from the EUR 1,5 million from the EUR 1,5 million from the No 92.378/22.06.21 Financing Agreement between the Hellenic Republic and the EIB

These resources, through the leveraging of private resources from the Intermediate Financial Institutions under the individual Funds generate total loan capital of at least EUR 1,2 billion. euros. Part of the financial contribution of the EIF, about 35 million. EUR 2 million relate to the coverage of the partial interest subsidy for 2 years for the part of the loan financed by the financing agency, with the remainder relating to the interest-free co-financing of the loans to be provided through the individual financial instruments.

The co-financing funds of the "Business Growth Fund" will be implemented through the use of the Development Bank's "Know Your Customer" IT system ("KYC Platform").

It is recalled that the Development Bank has develop the IT system for the purpose of making available online services for the retrieval of key data from the prospective end recipient and the creation of a contact point for the registration of the necessary data of Greek enterprises or enterprises with establishment and operation in Greece that are looking to participate in the financial instruments of the Development Bank. In the context of its operation, the platform draws key business data from the electronic databases of the necessary public information systems through the Interoperability Centre of the General Secretariat for Public Administration Information Systems (G.G.P.S.D.D.) of the Ministry of Digital Governance.

How the resources are shared of the Business Growth Fund

The resources of the call are allocated to the individual Co-financing Funds as follows:

I) Green Co-Financing Loans. €200 million to co-finance 40% of loans. 18 million for the two-year partial interest rate subsidy (3%),

II) Digitalization Co-Financing Loans; €100 million for 40% loan co-financing. EUR 9 million for the two-year partial interest rate subsidy (3%)

III) Liquidity Co-Financing Loans; €240 million for 40% loan co-financing. EUR 8 million for the two-year partial interest subsidy (3%) exclusively for enterprises that have not previously received a business loan through the Development Bank's programmes.

It should be noted that the amounts corresponding to the two-year interest rate subsidy of the part of the loan financed by the financial institutions (60% of each loan) relate to a portion of the total interest rate of 3% fixed throughout the two-year period. They are paid to the financial institutions on a quarterly basis.