From 29 April 2020, growth companies can apply for a special bridging loan, the so-called Corona Bridging Loan (COL). This can be done at the Regional Development Companies (ROMs), which implement this scheme at the request of the cabinet.

This bridging loan for startups, scale-ups and innovative SMEs, for which the Cabinet itself initially makes 100 million euros available, was announced earlier this month by the Cabinet. The COL is one of the additional measures to support entrepreneurs because of the economic impact of the coronavirus and has been developed in close collaboration with the ROMs and techleap.nl.

State Secretary Mona Keijzer of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK):
“In these exceptional and difficult times, the cabinet is making financial support more accessible to all entrepreneurs. Startups and scale-ups are of great importance for the future of our economy and society: they provide tomorrow's income and jobs and contribute with their innovative products and services to solving global challenges - such as the corona crisis. That is why the cabinet is now investing 100 million euros in bridging loans that will allow our growth companies to get through these difficult months. ”

Corona Bridge Loan

The loans that the ROMs will provide vary between € 50.000 and € 2 million. For amounts above € 250.000, 25% co-financing is expected from the shareholders or other investors. A uniform interest rate of 3% is applied. The ROMs aim to process the assessments of applications under € 500.000 within four to nine working days. For applications above € 500.000, the aim is to reach a final decision within three working weeks. 

additional measures for startups and scale-ups

Startups and scale-ups are experiencing major consequences of the corona crisis: an inventory by Techleap.nl shows that 55% of the companies see the demand disappear due to the loss of existing customers or the absence of new customers. Collecting the necessary new financing is a problem for this group under the current circumstances. This is because start-ups and scale-ups and other non-bank-financed companies can make little or no use of the measures previously announced by the government that are aimed at companies financed with debt.

More information about criteria and applications can be found at the following link.

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