Improved financing for innovative companies: KfW introduces "Entrepreneur Loan Plus"

• Up to EUR 7.5 million per project
• 50% exemption from liability for on-lending banks
• European Investment Fund and KfW each bear 25% of the credit risk from the exemption from liability

From 1 December 2014, KfW will be offering the new Entrepreneur Loan Plus, which provides innovative medium-sized companies and self-employed professionals with investment and working capital financing at a particularly favourable interest rate for projects in Germany. The programme considers a company innovative if it satisfies at least one of several criteria, such as having successfully filed a patent within the last 24 months. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can apply for up to EUR 7.5 million per project under the Entrepreneur Loan Plus. Companies with a credit requirement of EUR 3 million or less per project receive particularly favourable terms and conditions. The Entrepreneur Loan Plus can be used to finance up to 100% of eligible investment costs with a term of up to seven years or working capital with a term of up to five years. The Entrepreneur Loan Plus is special in that KfW and the European Investment Fund will, under an exemption from liability, each bear 25% (in total 50%) of the credit risk of the on-lending banks to facilitate the granting of loans for such banks. The European Investment Fund (EIF) provides support for funding SMEs by sharing the risk via its RSI (Risk Sharing Instrument) guarantee programme. The RSI is a joint initiative run by the EIF, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission.

"Innovations are what drive our economy and make a considerable contribution to Germany's international competitiveness. As a promotional bank, we introduced the Entrepreneur Loan Plus to support innovative companies and to help them realise their ideas," says Dr Ingrid Hengster, Member of the Executive Board of KfW Group.

SMEs with fewer than 250 employees and annual sales of a maximum of EUR 50 million, larger medium-sized companies with fewer than 500 employees and group sales of a maximum of EUR 500 million with private majority ownership, as well as self-employed professionals, are eligible for the KfW Entrepreneur Loan Plus. All applicants have to fulfil the condition of having been active in the market for at least three years and must have proven their innovativeness, for instance by having received grants, loans or sureties from national or European research and/or innovation programmes or by having filed a patent in the last two years before submitting the application.