INVEGA launches ASAP factoring loan scheme

The National development agency Investicijų ir Verslo Garantijos (INVEGA) today started issuing invoice factoring loans under the ASAP scheme for companies whose customers were unable to pay their invoices due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The first loans have already been disbursed in the amount of EUR 95,000. The first loan recipients were micro enterprises whose invoices had not been paid on time by their business clients due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"This is a concrete example showing that the process of aid to businesses is accelerating," says Mr Kęstutis Motiejūnas, CEO of INVEGA. "From now on, we will make daily ASAP payments based on granted applications and signed loan agreements, and we will continue to accept new applications. The application process will remain open until the planned EUR 50m allocation to small and medium-sized enterprises has been distributed.

Companies seeking loans under the ASAP scheme can see the balance of the available funds under this measure by logging in to the application portal. It is sufficient for supplier companies to register the data of outstanding or partially outstanding invoices on the portal and for them to be confirmed by the buyer who has failed to pay the invoice. All the other information required for the evaluation of the application is collected and verified by INVEGA employees. Once the application is approved, a loan agreement is signed and the loan is disbursed.

The ASAP loans are designed for small companies that had been operating successfully before the quarantine and whose customers are unable to pay or have only partially paid their bills due to quarantine restrictions. Cmpany seeking the loan must have submitted their 2018 and 2019 financial statements to the Register of Legal Entities.

The invoices funded by the ASAP loan must have been issued between 1 January and 31 March 2020. Loans issued by INVEGA under the ASAP scheme can range from EUR 500 to EUR 500,000 depending on the company's sales volume and the value of the invoices confirmed. The loans are granted for 12 months. They are repayable and interest is charged starting after 6 months from the date of loan disbursement.

Importantly, companies seeking the loan and their customers must not belong to the same group of companies. Also, companies operating in the sectors of arms, ammunition, tobacco and tobacco products manufacturing, processing and specialized trade as well as production, processing and trading of alcoholic beverages and related products (excluding production of non-distilled alcoholic beverages) are not eligible for the loans; the loans are also not available to companies operating in the gambling and betting businesses or the financial services sector.