The agreement signed by the Lublin Agency for Entrepreneurship Support on behalf of the Lubelskie Voivodeship and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego is the first regional agreement in Poland for the implementation of repayable instruments in the EU financial perspective for 2021-2027.

The value of the funds to be managed by the BGK under the agreement is approximately PLN 316.8 million, of which approximately PLN 47 million is the national contribution of the Operational Programme Smart Growth 2014-2020, contributed to the Project from funds available to the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy. The funds come from repayments of liquidity loans granted from the OP IR 2014-20. The loans support companies at risk of losing liquidity due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, due to the armed attack in Ukraine.

PLN 1.5 billion is the total amount of resources returned to the OP IR, which we allocate to the national co-financing of repayable instruments for SMEs implemented by BGK, under all regional programmes for the period 2021-27,

said Minister Grzegorz Puda.

The solution adopted ensures that own contribution in financial instruments implemented at the regional level is financed from the resources returned in the OP IR, which, in turn, contributes to budget savings,

he added.

I am delighted that it is the Lubelskie Voivodeship that has pioneered the creation of the Trust Fund among the regions. With the signing of the agreement with the BGK today, a milestone can be achieved in making a preferential development loan available to entrepreneurs in the region. Under this agreement, it will be possible to implement investments related to the equipment of a company in order to launch new products, services or technologies on the market, as well as to support SMEs at an early stage of development. I hope that these investments will contribute to increasing the productivity of companies or the intensity of the use of technology and knowledge in the economy. I am convinced that this loan will be attractive, as it has a maximum amount of PLN 2 million. It is worth noting that we have allowed for the possibility of depreciating up to 25% of the outstanding capital and reduced the burden by introducing a grace period of up to 12 months,

says the Marshal of the Lubelskie Voivodeship, Jarosław Stawiarski. 

Thanks to its long-standing experience in managing the European Funds, BGK, under the agreement signed today, will transfer approximately PLN 316.8 million to entrepreneurs in the Lublin area. It is support in the form of repayable instruments addressed to those companies that will intend to increase their competitiveness. Loans should be available to entrepreneurs as early as autumn,

says Tomasz Robaczyński, member of the BGK management board.

Repayable instruments such as loans are an effective way of using the European Funds, allowing them to be reused, multiplying the companies supported and thus building capital for further development programmes. Involving these funds in the new perspective in regional programmes creates product synergies and facilitates the financial assembly of projects,

adds Tomasz Robaczyński, member of the BGK management board.

Owing to the excellent cooperation between the Lublin Voivodeship Local Government and the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Lublin entrepreneurs will be the first in the country to benefit from preferential loans to be granted by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego as part of the project concerning the implementation of financial instruments in the European Funds for Lubelskie programme for 2021-2027. The implementation of this project is crucial to achieving the programme objectives and increasing the competitiveness, productivity and innovation of SMEs in Lublin

 says Marek Neckier, Director of the Lublin Agency for Entrepreneurship Support in Lublin.

The MFiPR transferred the first tranche of funds in the amount of PLN 300 million to the BGK in February 2023. The remaining money funds be transferred successively following the reimbursements from the OP IR Loan Fund. The BGK will use these funds to provide national co-financing in the ROP in the SME part of the financial instruments, as own contribution in regional operational programmes. The BGK will use the funds until the end of 2029.

The agreement refers to assigning funds to the BGK for repayable instruments in the area of SME competitiveness; further areas within Lubelskie will be introduced successively over the coming months.

The funds that were previously committed in the OP IR to support companies with liquidity problems will now be transferred, among other things, to supplement the contribution to the European Funds for Lubelskie Programme 2021-2027 and will allow micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to invest in business development and research infrastructure, intangible assets and, in the future, in renewable energy,

said Minister Grzegorz Puda.

From the funds entrusted, the BGK will establish the Trust Fund under which it will select financing partners in a tender. Financial intermediaries will offer attractive loans to Lublin entrepreneurs. The call for funding partners will be launched in June and the first loans should be granted already in the autumn.

Entrepreneurs will be able to use these loans to fund investments related to the equipment of the company in order to bring new products, services and technologies to the market. It will be possible to support the use of modern IT technologies as an additional element of the projects,  Further cooperation agreements with the Lubelskie Voivodeship within the framework of repayable instruments will refer to investment in RES and energy efficiency improvements.

Lubelskie is the first region to launch EU repayable instruments in the 2021-2027 perspective. The support will apply to all regional programmes for the years 2021-2027.