Criteria Corona-Bridging Loan (COL) for startups, scale-ups and innovative SMEs known; applications possible from April 29

Loans under favourable conditions

The Regional Development Companies (in dutch: Regionale Ontwikkelingsmaatschappijen (ROMs)) will provide bridging loans under favourable conditions at the request of the Cabinet. The amounts of the loans 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 and the terms are tailored to the target group. More information about the conditions can be found in the Q&A. The aim is to assess and process 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.   More information about criteria and application procedure can be found at www.rom-nederland.nl/corona-overbruggingslening.   The COL is emphatically an emergency instrument in connection with the economic situation as a result of the Covid19 outbreak. This means that entrepreneurs must be able to demonstrate that they need this loan because of the current economic situation, but that in principle they have a sustainable and healthy future perspective. Entrepreneurs must also have taken cost-reducing measures that you can reasonably expect from them at the moment.  

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.   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. ”  

Applications possible from 29 April 2020

From Wednesday, 29 April at 9 am, it is possible to submit an application via a special online portal. Only applications submitted online will be processed. Applications for financing up to € 5 million that Invest-NL and the ROMs will jointly look at can also be submitted via this portal, which was developed together with TechLeap.nl.  

Ask your question

We can imagine that entrepreneurs or investors have questions about the COL facility. We have made an extensive Q&A in which we go into all the details of the Corona Bridge Loan.