Factsheet for measure
RO-2017-52/1844
–
Updated
– measures in Romania
Financial support for small and medium size companies - IMM invest
Sprijin financiar pentru companiile mici si mijlocii - IMM invest
Background information
"IMM Invest" is a governmental program launched back in 2017 through GEO 110/2017 which envisages to assist the small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). The program has been adapted and modified in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to assist the small and medium-sized companies (SME) affected by the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic in the provision of working and investment capital in the difficult economic context.
The program was modified several times in 2020 and 2021. Under the new provisions adopted in response to the pandemic, appr. 40,000 Romanian SMEs would have access to bank loans under preferential conditions to ensure the continuity of the activity and pay the staff employed during the pandemic period. The government is willing to guarantee loans of up to €3.09 billion within this program. In March 2021 the government extended the timeframe of IMM Invest until June 30th 2021 for evaluating the applications/signing contracts, and until the 30 June 2022 for making the payment of the grants.
Content of measure
Under the IMM Invest program, SMEs have access to:
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state guarantees for loans granted for working and investment capital. The state provides guarantees of up to 80% of the amount of financing and up to 90% for micro companies.
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direct grants to cover interest and fees generated by the loans. The state subsidises the interest and risk and management fees related to loans for all categories of SMEs at a value of 100 %. SMEs are granted loans guaranteed under the program benefit from a grant up to the sum of the amounts of the risk commission, the administration fee and the interest on the financing provided, but not more than the RON equivalent of €800,000 per enterprise.
SMEs can get two types of loans: for investments and working capital. The credits for investments are up to €2.06 million and can be paid back in 72 months. The working capital loans are up to €1.03 million for medium enterprises and up to €206,000 for small enterprises and can be paid back in 36 months.
Companies eligible for the program: micro-enterprises (up to 9 employees), small enterprises (10-49 employees), medium sized enterprises (50-249 employees). Among the most important eligibility criteria are:
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Beneficiaries should not have not been in financial difficulty at 31 December 2019 within the meaning of Regulation (EU) no. 651/2014, but have experienced financial difficulties due to COVID-19 pandemic;
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Do not have overdue loans in the last 6 months prior to 31 December 2019;
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Insolvency proceedings have not been opened against them;
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Have no outstanding fiscal liabilities to the central budget or, in the case they do, they have to commit to pay them out of the credit granted under the program.
In 2021, the GEO no. 16/2021 extends the timeframe of IMM Invest until 30 June 2021 for evaluating the applications/signing contracts, and until 30 June 2022 for making the payment of the grant.
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
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12 May 2023
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In May 2023, through the GEO 34/2023, the Government extended the timeframe for the grants payments until December 2023.
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28 December 2021
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In December 2021 the Government extended the timeframe of IMM Invest until 30 June 2022 for evaluating the applications/signing contracts, and until 30 June 2023 for making the payment of the grants.
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Use of measure
As of 5 May 2020, the National SME Credit Guarantee Fund analysed more than 47,000 applications received from more than 37,000 SMEs registered in the SME “imminvest.ro” platform and sent more than 20,000 applications for financing to the 22 partner banks.
Target groups
Actors and funding
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Actors
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Funding
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National government
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National funds
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Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
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Trade unions
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Employers' organisations
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Role
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Unknown
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Unknown
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Form
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Not applicable
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Not applicable
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Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
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Unknown
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Main level of involvement: N/A
Involvement
The role of social partners in designing the measure is unknown. The social partners have no legal role in implementing the measure.
Views and reactions
No public positions have been expressed by social partners regarding the measure.
Sources
