Background information

The Access to Finance Hub was established as a single access point for State funding of SMEs, which includes three key funding schemes. It also provides a credit review service for SMEs as well as links to other types of supports available to SMEs.

This instrument has replaced the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) .

Content of measure

The funding available is for start-ups and early stage companies as well as established companies seeking to scale up operations.

The three main funding schemes are:

Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme: This facilitates up to €1.2 billion in lending to eligible businesses affected by the war in Ukraine. It offers a partial government guarantee (80%) to participating finance providers against losses on qualifying finance agreements to eligible SMEs, small mid-caps and primary producers. Loans under the scheme range from €10,000 to €1 million, for terms of up to six years. Financing can include term loans, working capital loans and overdrafts.

Microenterprise Loan Fund: This provides support in the form of loans for up to €25,000, available to start-up, newly established, or growing micro-enterprises employing fewer than 10 people, with viable business propositions, that do not meet the conventional risk criteria applied by banks.

Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme: This is a long-term loan guarantee scheme that provides loans to SMEs (including farmers and fishers) of between €25,000 and €3 million, with terms of up to 10 years. Unsecured loans of up to €500,000 are available. The scheme targets a minimum of 30% of the lending volume towards environmental sustainability purposes with the aim of encouraging SMEs to take positive actions in support of the climate change agenda. Up to 70% of lending will be for strategic investments with a view to increasing productivity and competitiveness and thus underpinning future business sustainability and growth.

The Hub also provides access to a Credit Review function which helps SMEs that have been refused credit from the major lending institutions.

Use of measure

For the period October 2012 to March 2024, Microfinance Ireland has received 11,118 applications, approved €85.4m in loans, and has supported 10,703 net jobs in 5,198 micro-enterprises.

Since its launch in September 2023, the Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme has paid out loans of €50,319,982 to microenterprises, €28,766,670 to small businesses, and €15,361,500 to medium enterprises (total €94,448,152). Just under half of these loans were for amounts of less than €200,000

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	SMEs	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	European Funds National funds National Recovery and Resilience Facility

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

No involvement

Views and reactions

There are no expressed views of the social partners, as it is not in their domain. The Hub is a portal for SME financing.

Sources

• 01 January 2022: Access to Finance Hub (enterprise.gov.ie)
• 23 September 2024: Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme (enterprise.gov.ie)
• 23 September 2024: Microenteprise Loand Fund (enterprise.gov.ie)
• 23 September 2024: Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme (enterprise.gov.ie)