Deadline extended until April for large investment loan program

The application deadline for the program "Large investment loans with capital discount" jointly implemented by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) and the finance institution ALTUM has been extended until 2 April, LIAA has announced, citing "growing interest" as the reason.

"The Large Investments Programme offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to implement large investment projects and attract state support of up to EUR 10 million. The programme is open to both local and foreign investors. Some of the foreign investors addressed by LIAA will make their final decision on entering Latvia based on the results of this support programme," said Iveta Strupkāja, Acting Director General at LIAA.

The loan with a capital discount for large investment projects is intended for medium- and large-sized entrepreneurs who plan to invest at least EUR 10 million in the start-up, expansion and efficiency of production. Once the project is implemented and the results are achieved, part of the loan taken for the project is redeemed.

The total funding available for the third round of the program is EUR 70 million. The capital discount can cover up to 30% of the eligible project costs, but not more than EUR 10 million.

The objective is to support companies to implement viable projects that contribute to development, competitiveness, export growth and the introduction of new equipment and technological processes.

Specialization areas such as photonics and smart materials, technology, engineering systems, smart energy, and mobility; biomedicine, medical technology, pharmacy; knowledge-intensive bioeconomy, information and communication technology are particularly welcome. Furthermore, this project selection round has been expanded to also include tourism, culture and creative industries.

Entrepreneurs must submit their applications to both LIAA (https://business.gov.lv) and ALTUM (https://mans.altum.lv)

Projects are also potentially eligible for an additional ALTUM loan of up to EUR 30 million. A project can be financed either in partnership with a bank or exclusively with ALTUM.

To date, ALTUM has taken 13 decisions to grant support under the program, with a total amount of more than EUR 279 million, and the capital discount applied is EUR 75 million.

For more details contact LIAA: https://www.liaa.gov.lv/en