EconMin Popescu: We received 19,789 applications for SME working capital loan scheme

The Minister of Economy, Virgil Popescu, on Thursday evening stated that there have been recorded 19,789 applications for the SME working capital loan scheme.

"Today, at 11.00 am, we launched the 2nd financing scheme [for SME working capital - editor's note]. In the first minutes, so to speak (...) we had 9,000 simultaneous applications. (...) And we've had 19,789 applications an hour or so ago. The deadline for the applications is Wednesday, October 28. Normally, according to the number of applications, the budget is a bit exhausted, the 350 million are exhausted, but we obviously need to see first how much money each of the companies asked for, the maximum being 150,000 euros. And we also need to see how many of them are in fact eligible. This is the first application in which entrepreneurs, SMEs, no longer have to go to a counter to get a certificate to bring it to us, and then to go to another counter, for all the databases are simply interrogated automatically and answer also comes automatically after the interrogation of these databases," Popescu stated on Thursday, during the Government meeting.

The Minister of Economy also clarified the call for micro-grants of 2,000 euros granted to SMEs.

"Last night the first call for projects on scheme 1 ended, those micro-grants of 2,000 euros. Until last night, to give you the exact figure, 29,215 companies applied for funding for these 2,000 euros. We did not consume the entire budget, I noticed, during a week and the extension from Friday to Tuesday, a slight decrease and the fact that, basically, there were no more applications for financing, I stopped the project on Wednesday evening," mentioned Popescu.