Business Universal

* Program Industries

• Manufacturing
• Hotels Industry/Balneological Resorts
• Tourism Services
• Agrotourism Industry
• Ecotourism Industry

* For loans issued by commercial banks/leasing companies

• Within the framework of the loan, the Agency subsidizes the loan interest rate by the national refinancing rate minus 5% for the full term of the loan and in case of leasing - the national refinancing rate minus 3%
• Within the framework of the loan, the Agency guarantees no more than 60% of the loan principal amount for a maximum period of 10 years;
• The minimum loan/leasing amount is 50,000 GEL, and the maximum is 10,000,000 GEL;
• At least 50% of the loan should be used for capital expenses and not more than 50% for working/operational capital.
• Full utilization of the subject of loan/leasing should be done within 2 years after confirmation of the subject of loan/leasing.

* Program conditions

• Economic activity should be included in the list of priorities approved by the Government of Georgia under this program;
• For detailed information regarding the economic activity classifications, please see the Economic Activities Classifications.
• The beneficiary of the program must be an entrepreneur who meets the 3rd or 4th  category enterprise criteria (only in its income component) - in accordance with the Law of Georgia on Accounting, Reporting, and Auditing, this can be checked through the link: www.reportal.ge
• All beneficiaries are obliged to ensure unimpeded access of persons with disabilities to administrative buildings using ramps and/or similar facilities.

• Within the framework of the EU Pilot Regions Program - In case of a loan ranging from GEL 50 000 to GEL 1 500 000 beneficiaries from the pilot regions will receive a grant from 10% to 20%.

*Exceptions

Applies to all program directions

• It is not allowed to repair and purchase vehicles, except:

1. The vehicles that are directly involved in the production/service process on the territory of the enterprise;
2. Facilities used in the travel, agro, and eco-tourism industries which are classified as tourist attractions, including air and watercraft.
3. 49.42.0 shipping services; 52.21.0 land transport related services; 52.22.0 services related to water transport; 52.23.0 services related to air transport; 52.24.0 cargo loading-unloading;53.10.0 postal activities with universal service obligation; 53.20.0 Other postal and courier services - within the scope of these economic activities, only if the cost of purchase/repair of these vehicles (except for light vehicles defined in accordance with the Law of Georgia "On Road Traffic") equals the total cost of the loan/leasing project approved within the program not more than 30%.

Pilot Regions:
Imereti, Guria, Kakheti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti.

The grant component can only by used by the existing Business Universal program beneficiaries

• If the minimum loan/leasing amount is 50,000 GEL, and the maximum is 1,500,000 GEL and it is implemented in the following pilot regions – Imereti, Kakheti, Guria, Racha-Letshkhumi – Kvemo Svaneti:
  • The beneficiary will be able to get 10%, not more than 300,000 GEL, of a loan/lease approved by a commercial bank/leasing company, if the their economic activity is listed in Appendix N1.

Or

• • The beneficiary will be able to get 20%, not more than 300,000 GEL, of a loan/lease approved by a commercial bank/leasing company, if the their economic activity is listed in Appendix N9.
• If the approved loan/lease amount ranges from 50,000 GEL to 10,000,000 GEL and is not implemented in a pilot region, including Tbilisi:
  • The beneficiary will be able to get 15%, not more than 500,000 GEL, of a loan/lease approved by a commercial bank/leasing company, if the their economic activity is listed in Appendix N9.

Grant Reception: The beneficiary can submit a grant application after utilizing at least 50% of the loan/lease, along with an audit document proving the targeted use of the loan/lease. In addition, submission of the grant application to the agency is allowed no later than three years after the loan/leasing was issued.

Note: The Agency will pay the cost(s) not more than twice, based on the grant application(s) received. Payment can happen either partially (after utilizing at least 50% of the loan/lease) or fully (after fully utilizing the loan/lease). The beneficiary’s grant will be paid in 30 calendar days after the submission of an application. It should be noted that the audit document has to clearly demonstrate the following: The conducted audit confirms that the loan/lease amount was spent in accordance with the targeting and economic activity(ies) from NACE2 indicated in the agreement signed with the commercial bank/leasing company.