Information
The purpose of the tables below is to provide a summary of funding and technical assistance opportunities available from international organisations, development agencies and the private sector, to support small businesses impacted by Covid-19.
The following table should be used as guidance only and will be updated on a quarterly basis.
Please click on the name of the program to access detailed information about funding and technical support opportunities available.
Note that not all links deploy secure (https) end-to-end encryption. Please exercise caution when interacting with all unfamiliar websites.
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Funding
| Funding/support source | Summary information about the source | Region |
|---|---|---|
| KfW-DEG (German Investment Corporation) | DEG provides funding of 500,000 to 749,000 EUR to early-stage SMEs aimed at scaling innovative business models with high development impact. | African Region |
| ITC Global Textiles and Clothing Programme | Grants for employees and managers of SMEs involved in clothing and textiles sector to support job security and possible increased earnings. | Middle East and North Africa |
| REACT Kenya Relief Fund | Emergency grants distributed to SME in energy services. |
Kenya |
| South Africa Future Trust | Interest-free loans including direct financial support to SME employees who are at risk of losing their jobs or suffer a loss of income because of COVID-19. | South Africa |
| EC External Investment Plan | Summary of the guarantees for investment provided by the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD) and financing for MSMEs. | Sub-Saharan Africa; EU Neighbourhood |
| Africa’s first Assistive Technology Accelerator | Start-up accelerator in Africa with a strong focus on assistive technology-adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities or the elderly population. |
Africa |
| The Aavishkaar Group’s Facility for Humane Action | Grants to support most vulnerable groups impacted by COVID-19 in India. | India |
| EBRD facilitated MSME loans | The EBRD in cooperation with local commercial banks provide loans to SMEs and municipalities. Tools that may be available include credit lines, bank-to-bank loans, standby credit facilities and equity investments in the local banks. MSMEs should contact local banks directly to access finance and check local requirements and investment limits. |
Pan-European Region |
| EBRD Financial products for small businesses | SME Local currency programme offering assistance with long term affordable financing for SMEs, direct financing frameworks for SMEs by EBRD, risk sharing framework- EBRD in tandem with local banks share risks associated to lending to SMEs to facilitate SME access to finance. The website contains local partner contact information | Pan- European Region |
| EBRD Star Venture Programme | Star Venture programme targets promising start-ups, accelerators and consultants to unleash their full potential. Assistance with access to finance by connecting to investors, bespoke advisory services, mentorship. | Balkan countries, North Africa |
| EBRD promotes SMEs’ access to capital markets | EBRD programme providing tailor-made advisory services and technical support to upgrade SME investment capacity to international standards. | Greece |
| EBRD provides local currency loans for SMEs | EBRD programme providing improved access to funds for SMEs in Belarus in local currency to reduce exchange rate risks. Contact details of the local partner banks are available here | Belarus |
| EBRD small business financing opportunities via local banks | Access to finance for SMEs impacted by COVID-19 in Serbia via local banks. |
Serbia |
| EBRD Women in Business Program | Financing and advice for women- lead SMEs | Eurasian region |
| Norrsken - Action Against Corona | Various B2B support initiatives and funding opportunities to support businesses impacted by COVID-19. | Global |
| Business funding and support aggregator | Aggregator containing links to funding opportunities and accelerators in various regions. | Global |
| Open Road Alliance | Charitable grants and four types of loans for social enterprises and charities responding to direct impact of COVID-19. | Global |
| Global Innovation Exchange | GIE is a global development technology platform for innovations, funding and insights. Fundraising resource for social entrepreneurs in low-and-middle-income countries. | Global |
| GET.invest's dedicated COVID-19 window | Advisory and funding support for SMEs in clean energy field. | Global |
| Sorensen Impact Foundation - COVID-19 Coalition | A global consortium of investors looking to provide capital and other forms of support to entrepreneurs addressing the global health and economic crisis tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Global |
| YE! International Platform and Community to support young entrepreneurs | International Trade Center’s (ITC) virtual community and platform supporting young entrepreneurs dealing with economic and social disruption. | Global |
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Training, advisory, business support
| Funding/support source | Summary information about the source | Region |
|---|---|---|
| GlobalGiving Acelerator | Largest global crowdfunding community providing virtual training, tools and support for not-for-profits across various regions. | Global |
| International Trade Centre’s Trade Academy courses for SMEs | A selection of free courses to support SME development and growth | Global |
| International Trade Centre’s COVID-19 Business Community | An Index of government initiatives, enterprises commitments and society actions to support SMEs. | Global |
| Global trade help desk | Online tool integrating trade and business information about trade formalities for companies involved in import and export of goods. Particularly relevant in context of COVID-19 restrictions. | Global |
| Lex Mundi COVID-19 Resources | Legal resources to support companies responding to COVID-19. | Global |
| Start-ups versus COVID-19 | A repository of resources for Indian start-ups responding to COVID-19 challenges. | India |