EU Investment Plan – Financing Businesses In the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic does not sufficiently use the financial support from the infrastructure window of Juncker ́s Investment Plan which allows the financing of investment in major projects. On the other hand, it manages well to draw funds to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

SMEs support for investment is possible via subsidized loans and guarantees offered by commercial banks. Banks would welcome the allocation of greater volume of money, since they are often forced to discontinue the credit programs due to insufficient funds. According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Czech Republic the financial support of entrepreneurs via financial instruments is more efficient than through grant schemes. The ministry plans to entrust the Czech-Moravian Guarantee and Development bank with the implementation of financial instruments, particularly through the provision of soft loans and issuing guarantees for loans granted to final beneficiaries by commercial banks. The European Investment Bank, which manages the investment plan, offers a wide range of products. This includes loans for long-term projects (12-15 years) with a capacity from 50 to 500 million euros.

The bank lends money for projects in the field of infrastructure, environment, innovation and SMEs support. Companies interested in the investment can use the European Investment Project portal that allows investors to select from projects published by implementers for a small fee. In spite of its modest results for the Czech businesses they support the proposal to extend the duration and the scope of the European Fund for Strategic Investment till the end of the present Multiannual Financial Framework.