Agricultural Entrepreneurship Fund launched with €250 million in loans

Loans totalling €250 million are expected to be mobilised through the Agri-Food Sector Guarantee Fund, which is being activated today by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food and the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB).

According to a joint statement, the fund is backed by €80 million in public funds and is the first of three financing instruments.

“One of the biggest problems for anyone looking to invest in Greece’s agri-food sector today has been access to financing on terms that are genuinely affordable. With the new Agricultural Entrepreneurship Fund, we are addressing precisely this need. We are leveraging €160 million in public funds and, through cooperation with the Hellenic Development Bank and the banking system, creating financing opportunities of around €365 million across the entire agri-food value chain,” Minister of Rural Development and Food Margaritis Schinas said.

“We are starting today with the first instrument, which will mobilise €250 million in loans, backed by guarantees, interest-rate subsidies and significantly lower collateral requirements. We want farmers with a plan to be able to move forward, businesses looking to expand to be able to invest, and, above all, young people considering entering the sector to have more tools at their disposal to take that first step, he added.

Highly favourable terms

Hellenic Development Bank CEO Ismini Papakyrillou said that “the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Fund draws on the HDB’s extensive experience in implementing financing instruments offering highly favourable terms to borrowers, with the aim of improving productivity and supporting the growth of the agri-food sector.”

She stressed that “through cooperation with financial institutions, our aim is for the first loans to reach farmers and agri-food businesses as soon as possible.”

Investment loans of €25,000 to €3.5 million

Through the Agri-Food Sector Guarantee Fund, investment loans ranging from €25,000 to €3.5 million will be available, with repayment terms of between two and 15 years.

In addition, working capital loans of between €25,000 and €500,000 will be available, with terms ranging from two to five years.

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