Access to Finance

It is the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment's role to ensure that SMEs, including microenterprises, can access appropriate and affordable finance suitable to their stage of development.

DETE, working with agencies, the banking sector, and alternative finance providers, ensures credit to SMEs through state-backed loan and equity investment schemes so that access to finance is guaranteed to remain available during times of economic disruption. A wide range of supports are available for companies at all stages of their life-cycle – from start-ups and early stage companies to those seeking to scale and grow. They also offer additional targeted supports for where there are market failures.

Example of this include the €330m Brexit Impact Loan Scheme (BILS), launched as a success scheme to the Brexit Loan Scheme, and the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme.

The Department works with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Office to enhance the equity financing options for SME at the earliest stage of their development. For more information on the finance options available for your business, please visit the Department's website.