Startuok

It is a translation of the description. Due to possible different interpretations because of differences in the languages, the Lithuanian approved legal act should be applied.

What are the benefits?

As INVEGA is granting loans “Startuok“ financed by the European Regional Development Fund, it attempts that the small and medium-sized business (hereinafter – SMB) undertakings operating not more than three years or conducting the social impact projects and operating not more than five years, and SMB undertakings that were established in Lithuania not earlier than on 24 February 2022, the stakeholder of which (shareholder, member, partner) or the owner of which is an Ukrainian citizen holding the Lithuanian residence permit or an Ukrainian legal entity that has been operating not more than five years, and have a reasoned business plan, would receive the necessary funds to finance their projects, when new activities are started or when it is endeavoured at strengthening or expanding the already present activities.

Who is eligible?

SMEs that comply with the SME status defined in the SME Law, and:

  • That have been operating for the period not exceeding three years from the day of registration of an enterprise or self-employment;
    or
  • That are implementing the projects of social impact and that have been operating for the period not exceeding five years from the day of registration of an enterprise or self-employment;
    or
  • That were established in Lithuania not earlier than on 24 February 2022, the stakeholder of which (shareholder, member, partner) or the owner of which is a Ukrainian citizen holding the Lithuanian residence permit or a Ukrainian legal entity that has been operating not more than five years.

Submitted documents and information Self-employed businessman operating less than 3 years Enterprises operating less than 3 years Enterprises engaged in the projects of social impact and operating less than 5 years
Application
Declaration of SME status signed by a manager
Declaration of a single company*
Letter of the private sponsor intending to take part in the project (not applicable when all the funds covering the share of the private investor are those of the borrower. In such a case, such information has to be substantiated in the business plan)
Documents describing a business operator: registration documents, regulations, copy of the manager’s personal identity document, information about shareholders (owners, beneficiaries). Relevant structure of borrower’s shareholders and a document in a free form stating relations between the business operator and associated enterprises.
Registration documents on self-employment of the businessman, copy of the personal identity document, and a document in a free form stating relations between the businessman and associated enterprises
Business plan (in free form)
Clear and measurable key indexes of positive impact of social business have to be provided in the business plan of the company engaged in a project of social impact
Interim financial report of current financial year or equivalent documents if businessmen or enterprises have been operating for less than a year
Financial state and forecasts of business operator (Annex No. 1 to the Description)
Decision of the business operator’s management body to receive a loan, to mortgage property, and to assign the persons authorised to enter into the contract with INVEGA

* Declaration of a single company shall be submitted by a medium-sized, small or microenterprise operating less than five years.

The financed project has to be recognised as economically substantiated and paying dividends by INVEGA in the course of evaluation of the respective application.

Requirements for applicants

You may apply for the loan if:

  • That were established in Lithuania not earlier than on 24 February 2022, the stakeholder of which (shareholder, member, partner) or the owner of which is a Ukrainian citizen holding the Lithuanian residence permit or a Ukrainian legal entity that has been operating not more than five years.
  • You are operating in the Republic of Lithuania or another EU Member State.
  • In case of loans up to 25 000 euro, you are not a micro-, small enterprise or a businessman who satisfies the requirements of SME status and you have not been operating for less than 1 (one) year.
  • You are not active in the agricultural sector, unless you are engaged in or intend to engage in innovative activities, and you are not engaged in fisheries and aquaculture activities.
  • You are not engaged in financial and insurance activities, unless you are developing financial technology.
  • You satisfy the minimal criteria of reliable taxpayers.
  • You are not an enterprise going bankrupt, in the course of restructuring or liquidation.
  • You have not received an illegitimate aid that would be recognised by the European Commission as illegal or incompatible with the internal market, or you have repaid its total amount, including interest, in accordance with the legal acts.
  • At the time of application, you are not a business in difficulty and you have submitted the set of financial reports of the last financial year to the Centre of Registers (not applicable for SME that has been operating for less than 1 year).
  • Those with the authority of representation or control must not have been convicted or sentenced for criminal offences concerning economic activity in the last five years, and must have no criminal record associated with criminal offences, whether expired or not, where such specifically target the financial interests of Lithuania and the European Union. 

  • The applicant and its beneficiary, or the natural and legal entities who will benefit from the loan, must not be subjected to any sanctions including trade, economic or financial sanctions, embargoes or other restrictive measures.

  • You have submitted all the required documents.

A borrower is not considered to be a business in difficulty if it is a micro- or small enterprise, if no collective insolvency procedure is applied for it, and if it has not received any rehabilitation or restructuring aid. Besides, the borrowers cannot be the entities going bankrupt, in the course of restructuring, and they have to satisfy other requirements.

Business operators engaged in projects of social impact* Micro- or small enterprise operating less than 5 years** Medium-sized enterprise operating less than 5 years
The loan is granted According to the General Block Exemption Regulation According to the Regulation de minimis
Applied provisions of the Regulation
  • The borrower and the group of companies (if the borrower belongs to a group of companies) are not a business in difficulty at the time of application.
  • The State aid of certain amount may be granted to the borrower according to the provisions of the General Block Exemption Regulation.
  • No collective insolvency procedure is imposed on the applicant at the time of application.
  • De minimis aid of certain amount may be granted to the borrower according to the Regulation de minimis.

* Business undertakings that were established in Lithuania not earlier than on 24 February 2022, the stakeholder of which (shareholder, member, partner) or the owner of which is a Ukrainian citizen holding the Lithuanian residence permit or a Ukrainian legal entity that has been operating not more than five years.
** In compliance with the requirements of Paragraph 2 of Article 22 of the General Block Exemption Regulation.

How much?

Total budget allocated for the instrument is EUR 35,29 million.

  Business operator of less than 3 years Business subject conducting the social impact projects and the Ukrainian companies
Age of enterprise or self-employment Up to 3 years Up to 5 years
State aid Not applied Applied
Interest rate of the loan According to the confirmed pricing Discount of 30 percent from the price confirmed in the pricing
In case of investment financing Loans up to 3 000 000 euro. Loan’s term is 120 months.*
In case of supplementation of circulating assets Loans up to 200 000 euro. Loan’s term is 36 months.*

* While there is no restriction on the number of loans per Borrower, the total outstanding loan balances under the Facility must not exceed EUR 3,000,000 for the same Borrower at any given time.

The loan’s interest is partially fixed. The share of partially fixed interest is determined according to the publicly available interest calculation methodology applied for loans granted by INVEGA. The interest rate is composed of an interest margin, determined by the Borrower’s risk level and the project to be undertaken by the Borrower, the size of the collateral securing the loan, the duration of the loan, the repayment schedule of the loan and a variable interest component based on the 12-month EURIBOR. The variable interest rate is established at the time of the loan agreement and remains fixed for a period of five years. After this period, the variable interest component is recalculated every 12 months.

At least 20 percent of the project’s expenses have to be covered by private sponsors, where at least 10 percent of the project’s expenses have to be covered from the borrower’s funds. The private sponsors may take part in the project by granting a loan to the borrower for the project’s implementation. Own funds of the borrower are also considered to be private financing.

Preliminary calculator of interest rate

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INVEGA evaluates the submitted application no later than within 30 working days, counting from the date of all correctly submitted documents.