The “tap” opens with €440 million for small and medium-sized enterprises

Two new programs, one already open and another set to “premiere” in September, are now available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to secure affordable, easy, and fast financing for their growth.

Specifically, since July 17, 2025, electronic applications have been open for the action “SME Extroversion,” with a total budget of €200 million, while the countdown has also begun for the reactivation of the TEPIX III Loan Fund, with new resources amounting to €240 million.

Third round for TEPIX III

The TEPIX III Loan Fund is a financing tool of the Portfolio Fund and was created to provide SMEs with investment-purpose loans and working capital loans under particularly favorable terms. The upcoming launch of TEPIX III will be the third time its budget has been increased, with an additional approximate €240 million.

The action provides for the granting of new loans with favorable conditions to SMEs (both existing and newly established). These are issued as term loans with a preferential interest rate, as 40% of the amount (funded by the Co-financing Fund) carries a zero interest rate.

The aim of the Fund is to support and develop SME business activity in Greece by improving their access to financing for a wide range of needs. Furthermore, the program seeks to strengthen companies’ production functions, improve processes and the quality of products and services, and, consequently, enhance their competitiveness and position in international markets.

The action was created under the Entrepreneurship Fund III, with funds co-financed by the “Competitiveness” Program of the NSRF 2021–2027. The Hellenic Development Bank (HDB) has been appointed as the manager of the Portfolio Fund.

SME Extroversion

The new action “SME Extroversion” under the NSRF 2021–2027 has a total public expenditure of €200 million and aims to strengthen the export capacity of small, very small, and medium-sized enterprises.

The purpose of the action is to improve the competitiveness and extroversion of enterprises, integrate them into international value chains, and enhance the global presence of their products, including through participation in trade fairs organized outside Greek territory, both in the European Union and in third countries.

Beneficiaries are existing small, very small, and medium-sized enterprises that, before the date of electronic submission of the funding application:

• Have completed at least one full (i.e., continuous twelve-month) financial year of operation.
• Are substantially active (Main Activity Code or the Activity Code with the largest revenue) in an eligible activity sector (NACE code) at the date of application submission.
• Hold the eligible investment NACE codes listed in Annex II.
• Have at least one Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) dependent employment position during the calendar year preceding the application. This will be verified based on the data recorded for the enterprise in the ERGANI information system.
• At the time of application, must demonstrate that at least 25% of the Private Participation of the proposed budget is covered by own funds.

A key requirement for the granting of funding is achieving an increase in the beneficiary’s exports of at least +70% within three years from the completion of the project, compared to the company’s export level in the 2024 fiscal year.

The opening date for electronic submission of funding applications is Thursday, July 17, 2025, at 13:00, and the platform will remain open until Thursday, October 9, 2025, at 15:00.

The funding application must be submitted electronically through the Integrated State Aid Management Information System (OPSKE). A comparative evaluation procedure will be applied to assess the applications.