Today, 14 January 2020, a public hearing took place in the offices of the Fund of Funds (FoF) at which the proposals received in the public tender for the award of a public procurement contract for ‘Loss-capped portfolio guarantee’ were opened. The instrument is financed by Operational Programme Innovation and Competitiveness 2014—2020, co-financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF).
The guarantee product has a budget of BGN 137 mln. and will finance Bulgarian enterprises from nearly all sectors of the economy with a focus on two strategic priorities for Bulgaria—energy efficiency and innovation. Approximately 60 % of the resources will be disbursed on energy efficiency loans and slightly more than 40 % on innovations.
Under the first priority, assistance will be provided to enterprises implementing important energy efficiency improvement projects based on energy audits performed in advance to ascertain needs. The first 161 micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises that submit applications under the project will receive grant assistance to cover the cost of audits. The loans to be provided under this priority may reach and exceed BGN 400 mln.
The remainder of the funds will be used as guarantee funds for projects for the development and implementation of innovations by businesses. The projects in question may be related to the implementation of ideas in the area of Information Technology, bio, nano and clean technologies, mechatronics, the creative industries, etc. Available assistance under this priority may exceed BGN 300 mln.
The following tenderers submitted proposals within the stipulated deadline:
- Banka DSK EA – for all lots;
- United Bulgarian Bank AD – for all lots;
- First Investment Bank AD – for all lots;
- Eurobank Bulgaria AD – for all lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9
