Poland’s Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy and the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) have launched a new support instrument for businesses. A loan fund worth almost PLN 800 million will help finance digitalisation, robotics and reductions in energy and raw-material consumption. Experts say loans combined with conditional grants respond to needs raised by Polish entrepreneurs.
The fund, launched under European Funds for a Modern Economy (FENG), is open to micro, small, medium-sized and large enterprises throughout Poland. Its allocation totals PLN 792 million.
“By launching a new digital and green financial instrument under European funds, we are responding to a very important business need: above all digitalisation and cybersecurity, as well as improving companies’ energy balance,” Grzegorz Orawiec, director of the ministry’s Department of Innovation and Development Support Programmes, told Newseria.
“Digital transformation very often drives green transformation, which is why these two aspects have been combined in one fund,” explained PARP president Krzysztof Gulda.
Automation and more efficient use of resources
Digital projects can include ERP, MES and SCADA systems, digitalisation of design and production, IT system integration and investment supporting Industry 4.0. Green financing may cover waste-reducing technology, carbon-footprint calculation, life-cycle assessment (LCA), and the eco-design of products and packaging.
“These areas emerged clearly from ministry analyses and dialogue with entrepreneurs, who strongly emphasised growing digitalisation needs alongside the enormous cost of such solutions and an increasingly difficult energy balance,” Orawiec said. “They stressed that development is impossible without digital security and new solutions emerging almost daily. Likewise, without saving raw materials or introducing circular-economy measures, maintaining a sound balance can become impossible and the business may be unprofitable.”
“The investment itself creates value because it generates savings through automation and cost optimisation, allowing a company to scale up again and improve its competitiveness,” said Michał Tusznio, managing director responsible for financing at ING Bank Śląski, one of the fund’s financing partners.
Loans of PLN 2.5–15 million
Loans can range from PLN 2.5 million to PLN 15 million. The preferential interest rate is 0.5% a year, with a principal repayment grace period of up to 24 months.
“The loan instrument for green and digital transformation gives entrepreneurs access to low-interest loans spread over a maximum of 15 years,” Gulda said. “If the entrepreneur completes the investment and achieves the planned indicators, they will also be able to receive a grant that reduces the loan balance.”
“If a business combines both components, it can benefit not only from attractive interest or a two-year repayment grace period, but also from a larger grant component—up to 15%,” said Paweł Jamróz, president of the Podlaska Regional Development Foundation in Białystok, one of the programme’s distributors.
“For typical business development needs that do not involve breakthrough innovation, entirely new technologies or research and development, financial instruments—loans or a combination of a loan and a grant—will be the dominant support. However, the focus should be on needs, remembering that the more groundbreaking and innovative the project, the greater the chances of a grant,” Orawiec said.
About 200 loans planned
The fund ultimately aims to provide around 200 loans. The first allocation will channel PLN 500 million to businesses. PARP will manage the fund and has selected five financing partners through public procurement to grant and service loans. A sixth is expected to join shortly.
“The basic elements when applying for this kind of loan are the business plan and the scope of the intended investment. Applicants need the full set of programme documents and must meet formal and financial-analysis requirements. They also need to explain the project itself: what it involves and what benefits it will bring. Ultimately, that is what we will assess, so those elements must be specified,” Tusznio explained.
According to PARP’s announcement, applications should open in the coming weeks. Micro, small and medium-sized businesses can also use free advice from European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH), including help with a digital audit or transformation roadmap.
“Businesses’ need for additional financing is very significant for a simple reason: companies in Poland need to become more competitive, not only here but across the European Union,” Jamróz said.
“Launching this instrument now follows at least two considerations. One is market observation: we look at dominant trends and what customers and businesses expect. Transformation, new technology, robotics and process automation are very topical. On the other hand, we see a financing gap. Loans between PLN 2.5 million and PLN 15 million occupy a space entrepreneurs currently cannot fill. We believe the combination of those factors will make the instrument attractive,” Gulda said.
Source: Newseria.
