The extension of the Corona Bridging Loan (COL) for startups, scale-ups and innovative SMEs is now a fact. Innovative entrepreneurs who find themselves in difficulty because of the pandemic can submit an application via the portal from today, 4 January 2021.

Bridging credit for start-ups, scale-ups, and innovative SMEs

The Corona Bridging Loan (COL) is an emergency loan for innovative entrepreneurs and SMEs who do not have a bank loan facility and are facing financial difficulty as a result of Covid-19. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate has made a total of €300 million available. At the request of the Ministry, the ROMs are providing bridging loans of between €50,000 and €2 million with favorable conditions.

Applications for the first round of the COL were open until the end of September. Now that all applications have been assessed, more than €35 million remains unused. Taking into account the course of the economic recovery and the remaining COL budget, the government has decided to extend the initiative until 30 June 2021 at the latest.

Rinke Zonneveld (Director of InnovationQuarter) on behalf of the ROMs explains: ‘When COL started, we had hoped that the initiative would run for a few months and that the situation would be back to “normal” by the end of 2020. Unfortunately, the reality is somewhat different. Covid-19 is still having a huge impact on the Netherlands and its businesses. We are endorsing the decision by the cabinet to extend the COL initiative and thus help entrepreneurs through the crisis and to continue innovating. After all, innovation will be essential to getting the economy going again after the crisis.’

Applications can be submitted from January 4

The online application portal will open again today. Applications will be assessed using the same tender system as before. This means that ROMs will assess applications on a regional basis and a national committee will weigh applications against one another. In addition to the formal criteria, qualitative criteria such as the number of FTEs, alignment with the mission-driven innovation policy, alignment with eco-systems and the importance of innovation will also be considered. Companies that were awarded a COL earlier cannot claim again under the COL scheme. More info at: https://www.rom-nederland.nl/en/corona-bridging-loan/

Maurice van Tilburg of Techleap explains: ‘We can see how the current increase in Covid-19 cases and the measures put in place because of that are affecting start-ups. Obtaining capital and rolling out products are both being delayed. We are pleased that the COL bridging loan will be available for longer, and we will be facilitating this process via the application portal along with our partners.’

Since it was launched on 29 April, more than a thousand startups, scale-ups, and innovative SMEs have applied for a Coronavirus Bridging Loan (Corona-Overbruggingslening, COL) or the Temporary Bridging Loan Programme for innovative Startups and Scale-ups (Tijdelijk Overbruggingskrediet Programma innovatieve Start- en Scaleups, TOPSS). Altogether, these companies employ nearly 12,000 FTEs. Applications totalling more than €500 million have been made to one or other of the two schemes.

Acute need among startups, scale-ups, and innovative SMEs

Initially, the cabinet set aside €100 million for the Coronavirus Bridging Loan (COL). In just one week, over 1,000 companies applied for €385 million through the COL, an amount that even exceeds the expectations of the Regional Development Corporations (Regionale Ontwikkelingsmaatschappijen, ROMs) that are implementing the scheme.

Invest-NL is making €100 million available for the Temporary Bridging Loan Programme for innovative Startups and Scale-ups (TOPSS). For TOPPS applications, Invest-NL has set a lower limit of €2 million. In the first week, Invest-NL received 21 applications, seeking total financing in excess of €130 million. Invest-NL must now assess each application on its merits and, if the application is approved, will pay a maximum of 50% of the financing itself.

‘Based on research, we had estimated that at least €350 million would be needed to help startups, scale-ups and innovative SMEs through this crisis,’ says Rinke Zonneveld (Director InnovationQuarter) on behalf of the ROMs ‘The budget of €100 million was a first step. The fact that applications for the COL are already almost four times that amount is indicative of the acute need among innovative Dutch companies. A rough estimate based on initial assessments is that around 50-60% of the applications will be successful and, thanks to the co-financing we are requesting from shareholders, around 35-40% of the total sum applied for will be needed for applications received thus far. This would mean that the figure of €100 million has already been used up by applications in the first week.’

Nils Beers, CEO Techleap.nl, says: ‘This huge demand confirms how much money is urgently needed to keep these innovative companies afloat. We will continue facilitating and monitoring applications via the central portal, and the data from this will also be used to continually evaluate whether the current measures are enough.’