HDB Digitalization Co-Financing Loans

Piraeus Bank, in collaboration with the Hellenic Development Bank – HDB offers you financing on preferential terms combining a two-year subsidy of interest with partly interest-free financing, aiming at digitizing and digitally upgrading operations/activities, productivity increase and expanding and creating new jobs for small and medium-sized businesses.

The loans are co-financed by a Fund managed by the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB), with resources financed by the Greek State and the European Investment Bank.

IDEAL FOR
Micro, Small and Medium - sized Enterprises that wish to digitize and digitally upgrade their operations/activities with preferential terms
REPAYMENT METHOD
  • Monthly
  • 3-monthly
  • 6-monthly or
  • annual instalments

repaying
principal and interest combined
or
principal and interest apart
INTEREST RATE
Fixed for the entire loan duration

or

Variable Based on Euribor 3m plus margin
OTHER FEATURES
Preferential pricing from:

  • 40 % interest-free funds through co-financing from HDB

    &
  • 300 basis points (3%) interest rate subsidy for the first 2 years on 60% of the loan amount
IDEAL FOR
Micro, Small and Medium - sized Enterprises that wish to digitize and digitally upgrade their operations/activities with preferential terms
REPAYMENT METHOD
  • Monthly
  • 3-monthly
  • 6-monthly or
  • annual instalments

repaying
principal and interest combined
or
principal and interest apart
INTEREST RATE
Fixed for the entire loan duration

or

Variable Based on Euribor 3m plus margin
OTHER FEATURES
Preferential pricing from:

  • 40 % interest-free funds through co-financing from HDB

    &
  • 300 basis points (3%) interest rate subsidy for the first 2 years on 60% of the loan amount

Eligibility Criteria

TEligible are SMEs1 that operate legally in Greece, except for non-residents, holding companies in other companies, companies in the financial sector, companies listed on the stock exchange, public bodies and their subsidiaries, OTAs and their subsidiaries for which the following apply:

  • The NACE code with the highest revenue is eligible
  • Maintains an establishment and operates in Greece legally and has been established up to the time of submission of the financing application to the Bank.
  • It is not considered a Troubled Business2.
  • It is considered a credit-acceptable business in accordance with the applicable credit policy and the Bank's internal procedures.
  • It has not been subject to Insolvency.
  • It does not present an overdue debt of more than 90 days in its existing loan obligations at the date of the financing application.
  • There are no grounds for exclusion of Article 40 of Law 4488/2017 (A 137/13.9.17), as applicable
  • There is no pending order for the recovery of previous unlawful and incompatible state aid based on an EU or CJEU decision
  • If it has joined HDB programs (formerly ETEAN), which have been completed or are in force and has not shown adverse transactional behavior in the repayment of its debts (loan termination or overdue debts for a period of more than ninety (90) days) or in the case where it has shown adverse transactional behavior (loan termination or overdue debts for a period of more than ninety (90) days), has paid its debts in full before submitting the financing application, or if it is a guarantee program, the guarantee amount has not been paid by HDB when signing the Final Recipient Agreement or since the debt in question has been confirmed to the competent tax office., it has been included in a regulation regime, which continues to be in force on the date of submission of the financing application.
  • It has not been barred by a barring decision from the EIB both at the time of submitting a financing request to the Bank and at the time of concluding the Final Recipient Agreement in accordance with the EIB Barring Policy (https://www.eib.org/en/about /accountability/anti-fraud/exclusion/index).

In addition, the company should not participate in activities that:

  • Aim at the production or trade of weapons and ammunition, explosives, equipment or infrastructure specially designed for military use, as well as equipment or infrastructure that has the effect of restricting the individual rights and freedom of people (e.g. prisons, detention centers of any kind ) or the violation of human rights,
  • Cause environmental impacts, which are not largely mitigated and/or compensated (including, but not limited to, projects in protected areas, critical habitats and cultural heritage sites);
  • Are considered morally or ethically controversial, such as human cloning research and animal testing,
  • Health Technology related to human cloning for research or therapeutic purposes and Genetically Modified Organisms / Food.
  • Are considered illegal and prohibited by national law.
  • Are associated with online gambling, casinos and illegal activities (pornography, illegal penetration of electronic networks, illegal embezzlement of electronic data
  • In the field of decommissioning or construction of nuclear power plants
  • Are associated with the production or facilitation of the use of games of chance and related equipment/betting and
  • They target the production, processing, processing or specialized distribution of tobacco, as well as activities that facilitate the use of tobacco (eg "smoking rooms").

Financing features

Purpose

Investment loans to finance the digitization and digital upgrading of operations/activities, productivity growth, expansion and the creation of new jobs for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Funding Eligibility Criteria:

  • Contracts that concern new financing from the Bank.
  • The purpose of the financing is defined as "investment", and in no case does it relate to (a) refinancing of existing borrowing or lines of credit, (b) financing program for the payment of dividends or share purchases, or (c) financing of Acquisitions and Mergers,
  • Be in the form of a regular maturity loan with a term of 2 to 10 years, including any grace period of up to 24 months.
  • To be expressed in euros.
  • Proof through the submitted business plan and during implementation by submitting relevant documents that the financed activities concern one or more of the following key areas:
    1. Development of digital infrastructure (e.g. internet, broadband, mobile networks, satellite technologies, use of data centers, end-user devices, internet of things (IoT), applications, websites, API integration and cloud-based services).
    2. Investments in equipment (Hardware) and automation solutions.
    3. Software, application and data investments.
    4. Business process improvements facilitated by one or more digital technologies.
    5. Development of a strategic monitoring system.
    6. Human capital development (e.g. learning and development initiatives related to the digital/and IT upskilling/training of employees and the employment of temporary or permanent IT specialists)
    7. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
    8. Purchase of Services for other digital upgrade costs, such as digital advertising/promotion (digital marketing), presence on social media (social media), creation of videos to present the company's products, creation of digital content, etc. as well as costs for implementation and certification in digital security standards (e.g. iso27001) and/or digital functionality.
    9. Costs of consultants/experts for:
      - The analysis of the needs of the business and the correct guidance for adopting the best solution regarding the digital upgrade and
      - The preparation of a study for the overall management of the investment.
    10. Digital intensive improvements namely, the implementation of part of the business of one or more digital technologies related to specific areas such as 3D printing, robotics, IoT, big data and artificial intelligence, drones, virtual reality.
  • In any case, the Eligible Expenses will not concern:
    1. The purchase of land, unless it is technically necessary for the investment, in which case it can be financed up to 10% of the total business plan.
    2. The agricultural land market.
    3. The purchase of goodwill, licenses or rights to exploit mineral resources and production rights in the agricultural sector
    4. Duties, taxes, fees and levies.
  • he loan will not be used to finance activities excluded by Regulation (EU) no. 1407/2013 of the Commission of 18 December 2013, regarding the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid.

Amount

€25.000 - €1.000.000 maximum per company

Duration

From 2 up to 10 years (including grace period)

Interest Rate

Fixed for the entire loan duration or Variable based on Euribor 3m plus margin reduced by 40%

The interest rates are charged with the interest margin and the contribution of L.128 / 75, which currently amounts to 0.60%.
The customer's final interest rate is determined on the basis of a creditworthiness assessment.

Interest rate subsidy

Two-year interest rate subsidy of 3% which:

  • Is irreversibly terminated in the event of an overdue payment for more than 30 days
  • Does not cover the levy of Law 128/75 and any late payment interest rate that, in any case, is due by the customer.

Repayment

  • For Small Businesses and Professionals (Turnover ≤ €2.5 million):
    Monthly or quarterly installments combining principal and interest
  • For Medium-sized Enterprises (€2.5 million Turnover ≤ €50 million) :
    Monthly quarterly, semi - annual, annual installments of principal and interest combined or principal and interest apart.
  • For Medium-sized Enterprises, option of Bullet/balloon payment up to 70% of the initial capital of the loan is provided

Grace period

Up to 24 months (during the grace period only the interest due will be paid).

Early repayment

Early partial or full repayment is possible without any charge. The capital repaid can not be refinanced

Currency

Euro (€)

Disbursement:

Disbursements can be either one-off or partial.
The first disbursement (one-time total or first installment) of the amount of the Contract should be made within four (4) months from the signing of the Contract.

  • the 1st disbursement will obligatorily take place within four (4) months from the date of signing the Contract with a final date of June 30th, 2025, and
  • the final date of completion of the disbursements is set within 36 months from the 1st disbursement and in any case until 30.6.2026 (disbursements final date), whichever date from the above comes first.

Co-financing from HDB

The loans are co-financed by 40% from interest – free capital from HDB

Interest rate subsidy

Two-year interest rate subsidy of 3% which:

  • Is definitively terminated in the event of an overdue payment of more than 30 days
  • Does not cover the levy of Law 128/75 and any late payment interest that, in any case, is borne by the customer.

Collaterals

Up to 100% of the loan amount.

Offering Period

Until 30.06.2025

How to get it

Application at "Know Your Customer (KYC)" HDB platform

  1. Once a series of eligibility criteria are checked, your application is sent to the Bank of your choice
  2. Selection of Bank by the applicant
  3. Τhe Bank expresses its high-level interest in receiving your application. ("Interested" Status)
  4. You receive a unique code per bank which you will enter during your application at www.ependyseis.gr/mis

Application at www.ependyseis.gr/mis

  1. Enter www.ependyseis.gr/mis with your personal codes (in case of lack of codes you must register)
  2. Fill in the details of the business to be financed in the application adding the unique code generated by the "Know Your Customer (KYC)" HDB platform
  3. Select Piraeus Bank to submit your request
  4. Finalize and submit your application to the system

Application for at a Piraeus Bank Branch

Once the application process has been completed at www.ependyseis.gr/mis, you may visit a Piraeus Bank branch, bringing along the printed application form.

For more information:


The European Investment Bank (EIB), the financial institution of the European Union established in accordance with Article 309 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, collaborates alongside with the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB), the Greek State and the Financial Intermediaries, in order to finance investment programs that contribute to the goals of the European Union. Learn more about the European Investment Bank (EIB) in supporting enterprises here.
1 An enterprise is considered any entity, regardless of its legal form, that carries out an economic activity. It includes in particular self-employed persons and family businesses, which carry out a craft or other activity, as well as personal companies or associations of persons, which regularly carry out an economic activity.
2 The application of the last sentence of par. 4c of Art. 1 of the GAS, according to which companies that were not problematic on December 31, 2019, but became problematic during the period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021.