LOW COST LOANS STARTING UP AND GROWING A BUSINESS

A number of supported credit schemes are currently available to businesses coping with recent economic upheaval. They are available to the end of 2022 and application is being made to the EU to extend them further.

Credit Guarantee Scheme

A new Credit Guarantee Scheme of €1.2 billion will be launched early in 2023, lending to businesses with less than 500 employees. The scheme is available through participating lenders.

- Loans from €10,000 to a maximum of €1,000,000 per borrower [up to €250,000 unsecured]

- Terms of between 1 and 6 years

- Up to 12 months interest and / or capital moratoria are possible under the Scheme - these remain at the discretion of the participating finance provider

- Applicants must first be approved eligible by SBCI and then apply to participating lenders.

Future Growth Loan

A new €500m loan scheme will be launched early in 2023. It is for businesses employing less than 500 people, who plan a strategic long-term investment.

- Loans €25,000 to €3million (up to €500,000 unsecured) at favourable interest rates.

- Term 7 to 10 years

- Confined to investment, diversification, innovation, new products etc. with a particular emphasis on environmental sustainablity.

Initial approval from SBCI is required, and a business plan required over €250,000.

COVID 19 Loan Scheme The Covid-19 Loan Scheme is available to SMEs liquidity/working capital; investment; up to 30% of new loans may be allowed for refinancing of existing short term credit. The scheme is available through participating lenders. Loans under the scheme

- Range from €25,000 to €1.5 million at favourable interest

- Are available to terms of 1 to 6 years

- Are available without security where the loan amount is less than €500,000 Microfinance Ireland offers alternatives to banks for businesses that employ less than 10 people. Their general loan terms are:

- Loan no more than €25,000

- Interest rate 5.5% (APR)

- Fixed repayments with no penalty for early repayment.

- Maximum term 3 years

For businesses who have been impacted by Brexit or Covid (ie. likely to reduce turnover by 15%) a six month interest period is also offered and a lower 4.5% APR if referred by your Local Enterprise Office. They also have an Expansion Loan which allows loans of up to 5 years for businesses who have been in operation for at least 18 months.

Credit Review

A small business can appeal the refusal of credit up to €3 million by certain banks to the Credit Review Office, provided they have already used the internal review procedure of the bank. Over 80% of bank refusals have been reversed through this process.

Going Digital

E-merge

The E-Merge programme provides £2,500/€2,800 fully-funded consultancy support to help businesses develop online sales and eCommerce solutions. It is available to companies with less than 250 staff operating in either the manufacturing or tradeable services sectors. Apply through intertradeireland.com

Trading Online Voucher Scheme

The Trading Online Voucher Scheme is designed to assist small businesses with up to 10 employees to trade more online, boost sales and reach new markets. It offers financial assistance of up to €2,500 with co-funding of 50% from the business along with training and advice to help your business trade online. The vouchers are targeted at businesses with the following profile:

- Limited or no e-commerce presence;

- 10 or less employees;

- Turnover less than €2m;

- Applicant business must be trading for at least 6 months

- Business must be located in the area covered by the LEO to whom they make their application i.e. LEOs cannot accept applications from businesses located outside their jurisdiction.

Online Retail Scheme

The purpose of this competitive fund is to enable Irish-owned retailers to enhance their digital capability and to develop a more competitive online offer that will enable an increase in their customer base and build a more resilient business in the domestic and global marketplace, both online and offline. It offers successful applicants a grant ranging from €10,000 to a maximum of €40,000 - covering up to 80% of project costs. Current criteria include employing at least 10 employees on a full-time equivalent basis on or before 29 February 2020 or has grown to that level since then. It is intended to introduce a new round of the Online Retail Scheme in 2022.

Digitalisation Voucher – Enterprise Ireland

This is available to companies to access independent technical or advisory services supports related to the current and future operations of your business. The voucher covers services from an approved service provider up to a value of €9,000. A maximum daily rate of €900 per day applies. It is open to companies that operate within the manufacturing or internationally traded service sectors who employed 10 or more full time people on their payroll on the 29th of February 2020 or employed 10 fulltime staff at the time of application. Companies must have suffered, or be projected to suffer, a 15 per cent or more reduction in actual or projected turnover or profit or have had a significant increase in operational costs as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Local Enterprise Office: Each Local Enterprise Office provides a First Stop Shop for all enterprise supports in every county and also provides the business support service of the local authority. Each LEO offers direct access to mentoring, microfinance, grants (where appropriate) and seamless access to the wider range of Enterprise Ireland support for high potential enterprises. Visit www.localenterprise.ie

Their range of grants include: feasibility (50% up to a max €15,000) to assess a business idea; StartUp or expansion (50% up to a max of €80,000 or €150,000); and support for training or consultancy to support building the capacity of the business or for lean transformation; and innovation vouchers.

The LEOs’ Mentor Programme matches up the knowledge, skills, insights and entrepreneurial capability of experienced business practitioners with small business owner/ managers who need practical and strategic one-to-one advice and guidance. The mentor contributes independent, informed observation and advice to aid decision making. All applications for mentor assistance are dealt with individually and are preceded by a business needs analysis to assess the needs of the business and determine the most imperative mentoring objectives.

Competitive Start Funding: the Enterprise Ireland Competitive Start Fund holds regular calls. This fund offers early stage enterprises with significant potential the opportunity to compete for an investment of €50,000 towards the start up and market-launch process. Successful starts can graduate to the additional supports available for “High Potential Start-Ups”, for 10% ordinary share.

Back to Work Enterprise Allowance

This scheme offers support for people who are long-term unemployed and who are interested in selfemployment as a route to entering the labour market. It is payable to self-employed individuals for a 24-month period from the commencement of their new business. All eligible participants will receive their full period of entitlement of 24 months. This includes anyone who contacted the Department of Social Protection to temporarily suspend their allowance while their business closed during the pandemic. This grant offers up to €2,500 over the first two years of a new business and assists with the early business start-up costs.

Short Term Enterprise Allowance: The Short-Term Enterprise Allowance (STEA) gives support to people who have lost their job and want to start their own business. It is paid instead of Jobseeker’s Benefit for a maximum of 1 year. It ends when the entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit ends (that is, at either 9 months or 12 months).

Enterprise Ireland works with Irish businesses who have the potential to export to export to start and scale their business, to build critical capabilities, to penetrate export markets and to meet the new challenges impacting upon businesses.

It provides a large suite of supports and tailors them to the individual needs of your business. It nurtures startups with high potential. It helps drive transformational change: digital, lean, low carbon, product innovation. It showcases Irish design, products and services. It helps on the journey of exporting from first steps to sophisticated partnerships and to manage the disruption from Brexit.

Cllr Declan Flanagan 087 2595544 • declan.flanagan@dublincity.ie;

Cllr Aoibhinn Tormey 087 4267176 • aoibhinn.tormey@cllrs.fingal.ie