Romania kicks off COVID-19 microgrants scheme for SMEs

Romania’s Economy Ministry will open on Monday, October 12, the applications for microgrants aimed at helping local SMEs and individual enterprises (PFA) affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Within this scheme, the state will distribute EUR 2,000 microgrants to SMEs that had no employees in 2019, PFAs in selected economic sectors impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and NGOs involved in helping COVID-19 patients and hospitals.

The total budget for this scheme is EUR 100 million, with most of the money coming from the EU budget. Thus, the scheme will help 50,000 beneficiaries, according to the first-come-first-serve principle.

The grant applications can be sent starting Monday morning, October 12, at 10:00 AM, through the granturi.imm.gov.ro platform. The application period is five days and ends on Friday, October 16, at 20:00. However, the deadline could be extended if the available budget isn’t exhausted in the first five days.

The microgrants are part of a wider grants program designed by Romania’s Government and approved by the European Commission, which aims to help SMEs impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The program includes two more schemes: grants for working capital dedicated to SMEs in sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and investment grants aimed at helping local SMEs strengthen and expand their activity.

The grants will be distributed through eight local banks: Banca Transilvania, BCR, BRD - Groupe Societe Generale, Raiffeisen Bank Romania, CEC Bank, OTP Bank Romania, Banca Romaneasca, and UniCredit Bank Romania.

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