ALTUM starts to offer small loans in rural areas

The development finance institution ALTUM starts to offer a completely new loan programme “small loans in rural areas” from 5 September, which is developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture. The programme, with a total funding of eur 13,8 million, has so far not been a possibility of State aid, as it is intended only for those who are resident outside the big cities and which have a small annual turnover (up to 70 thousand euros). It is planned that the aid in the form of a loan will be eligible for 750 to 1000 enterprises throughout Latvia, which operates or wants to operate in agriculture, in one of the general business sectors or in the fisheries sector.
In the framework of the loan programme “small loans in rural areas”, investments and working assets in total up to 100 thousand euro can be received by both new and experienced entrepreneurs, whose annual turnover does not exceed 70 thousand euros and who operate in rural areas across the country except in the largest cities (Riga, Ventspils, Liepaja, Jelgava, Jurmala, Valmiera, Rēzekne, Daugavpils, Jçkabpils, Tukums, Salapils and Cēsis). The loans of this programme will be particularly suitable for small or new farms, domestic producers, young farmers, organic farmers, as well as for various service providers in rural areas. The possibilities of the programme can also be used by fisheries undertakings, irrespective of their turnover and location.
The available funding and its conditions are:
- a loan for investments and working assets of up to 100 thousand euros, including a maximum amount of working capital loan of up to 35 thousand euros;
- the duration of the loan up to 10 years, construction and real estate projects - up to 15 years. For working assets up to 3 years;
- a loan of up to 7 thousand euros available without co-financing of the borrower, above that amount, with CO-financing OF 10%;
- preferential collateral requirements: a loan of up to 25 thousand euro may also be provided without additional collateral but with a personal guarantee if the immovable property or other registered property is not purchased;
- the interest rate is between 4 and 8%.
Inese Zīle, Member of THE ALTUM Board:
“ALTUM already has a wide range of national support programmes for entrepreneurs. At the same time, we follow the economic trends and the needs of entrepreneurs and develop new products. Our new programme will be the most useful for economic operators in rural areas, which are at the start-up stage or have a small turnover. Due to insufficient specificities of credit history, activity and operational risks, financial flows and lack of collateral, commercial banking funding is often limited to them. I call on entrepreneurs to use the benefits of this new programme to raise the existing business in a new quality, or to rebuild a new idea into reality!”
In future, for both this and other programmes implemented BY ALTUM, customers may submit applications and documents required for them only electronically. More information on THE ALTUM new programme “small loans in rural areas” is available at: here.
About ALTUM
The development finance institution ALTUM is a Latvian state-owned capital company that provides support to certain target groups in the form of financial instruments with the aid of State aid financial instruments (loans, guarantees, investments in venture capital funds, etc.), complementing it with non-financial support (consultancy, mentoring) as well as selling other State delegated functions within the framework of specific programmes. In June 2017, ALTUM received the international credit rating company Moody's long-term credit rating for Baa1 State capital company, which confirms ALTUM's stable financial situation. In turn, ON October 24, 2017, ALTUM's bonds were ̧ into a regulated market - the Nasdaq Riga Baltic para list. 
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