The new Entrepreneurship Fund (TEPIX III), which has been running for a week now from the Hellenic Development Bank, aims to provide support and "training" to small and medium-sized enterprises. As CEO Ismeni Papakyrillou explained at the 12th Regional Development Conference, held in Patras, Greece, the TEPIX will provide loans worth €2.2 billion and aim to reach as many micro, small, and medium enterprises as possible throughout Greece.

"Greece has strong entrepreneurship, and we see companies growing at a fast pace. However, in order to remain competitive, Greek businesses need to invest, especially in green and digital transition," Papakyrillou said. "We need to improve the mobility of companies, and this is where we encounter the biggest difficulties," she admitted. To this end, the CIP III also covers working capital and investment projects.

According to APE, the managing director of the Hellenic Development Bank noted that in order to receive a loan from TEPIX III, the entrepreneur will have to fill out a questionnaire regarding ESG criteria.

"This is a simple questionnaire, much simpler than the one he will be asked to fill out at banks in the future," he said, explaining that this procedure was incorporated into the TEPIX to "educate" entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises on ESG criteria, which will soon be crucial for obtaining financing. "ESG criteria are very important, and Greek SMEs should not be left behind; they should start the internal assessment," he pointed out.

The educational role of Hellenic Development Bank's programmes includes the mentoring component that accompanies the small loans for rural entrepreneurship and offers 300 euros per HUF for mentoring services.

"We see that there has been a lot of mobility since the opening of TEPIX III, and this makes me very optimistic. It is an opportunity for the Greek economy and Greek businesses to take a step forward and become more competitive. We want to achieve as much enlargement as possible, and for that, we need to address a number of small companies as well. This has some risk," Papakyrillou admitted.

TEPIX III comprises two sub-funds, the Guarantee Fund and the Loan Fund, and can cover up to 80% of the loan granted with guarantees, which gives banks the opportunity to reach out to companies that would otherwise have been excluded. It is being implemented with the cooperation of 12 Greek banks, and one of its new features is that it includes a special fund with a budget of €150 million, aimed at start-ups aged one to five.