The Guarantee for SMEs Fund II was created by Article 3 of Law No. 2015-30 of August 18, 2015 on the Supplementary Finance Act for the year 2015. It is intended to provide a guarantee for short, medium and long-term loans granted by banks, leasing companies as well as equity participation of venture capital firms in undertakings operating in sectors other than manufacturing and manufacturing-related services not covered by a guarantee mechanism.
The recipient company must not be classified or subject to measures under Law 95-34 of April 17, 1995 concerning the rescuing of companies in economic difficulty.
1- Activities eligible for the guarantee :
- All activities except the hotel industry, finances services, trade and real estate development destined for housing,
- Activities launched by new entrepreneurs.
- Activities eligible for funding under the Information Technology Innovation Incentive Scheme (RITI).
2- Size of investments concerned:
Investments made by small and medium-sized industrial and service companies in one of the above-mentioned activities are eligible for FGPME II coverage provided they meet the following criteria :
- The investment cost does not exceed 15 million dinars, including working capital for start-up projects,
- The total investment cost, including net fixed assets, does not exceed 15 million dinars for extension projects.
- The investment cost does not exceed 500 thousand dinars for projects eligible for funding under the RITI scheme.
3- Financing eligible for the guarantee: Loans and equity investments
Only applications for guarantee of short, medium and long-term loans and equity investments made during the period from July 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016 will be considered
4- Forms and Intervention methods of the FGPME II:
- Refinancing of one half of the loans and assumption of treasury interest on half the outstanding principal amounts of eligible loans, in accordance with the agreed apportioning of coverage of the loans deemed irrecoverable between the FGPME II and the bank, upon initiating recovery proceedings against the debtor.
- Assumption of 60% or 75% of the irrecoverable amounts of loans or equity investments and 50% or 75% of the cost of judicial proceedings initiated for the recovery of the loans.