The Slovene Enterprise Fund offers quasi-equity financing in the form of a convertible loan on very favourable terms to innovative enterprises that need a financial injection in the seed development phase to accelerate sales and market growth.

The purpose of the product is to provide quasi-equity financing (convertible loan) for seed stage innovative enterprises that find it difficult to access financing from commercial banks or other classic forms of financing.

The Fund thus encourages a faster deployment of new technological advances, inventions and patents into economic exploitation (an instrument of connecting scientific institutes, young researchers, universities, inventors with entrepreneurial practice).

Key information on financial incentive SK

The amount of funding

• 75.000 EUR of convertible loan

Drawdown of funding

Drawdown of the loan in three tranches

• 1. tranche: 25.000 EUR
• 2. tranche: 25.000 EUR
• 3. tranche: 25.000 EUR

Funding period

• the maturity of the convertible loan including a grace period on the loan repayment: five (5) years with an option to extend the maturity by up to two (2) years

Possibility of a grace period

• 3-year grace period on repayment of the principal of a convertible loan

Interest rate

• contractual interest rate: fixed 4,0 % p. a.

Repayment profile

• the convertible loan is repaid in equal successive monthly instalments after the grace period expires

Eligible costs

• all costs related to the enterprise and development of the enterprise
• it is prohibited to repay existing corporate loans

Beneficiaries and eligibility criteria

• micro and small enterprises
• an enterprise, registered in Slovenia (headquarters in Slovenia)
• an enterprise, registered as limited liability company
• the enterprise does not have a registered main activity in the excluded sector
• age of enterprise from 1 to 5 years
• at least one shareholder, employed full-time

Other conditions

• completed development of a product/service that has already been tested by the first customers
• own development or innovative business model
• first revenue from sales of the product/service
• the enterprise may not be in difficulty
• the enterprise must show closed financial structure in its application

Council of Experts

• in case of the obtaining a convertible loan a council of experts of the enterprise is formed, which is an advisory body and advises the manager on strategic decisions and other decisions on the request of the manager.

Selection criteria

• number of points achieved in the pre-selection
• entrepreneurial team
• innovation and technology
• size of initial capital in the enterprise in cash
• presence of a private investor
• financial status or indebtedness of the enterprise
• market size and growth
• ability to repay the convertible loan

The application for the public tender SK75 excludes a simultaneous application for tenders P2, P2R and SI-SK. Only a transition of enterprises in the direction of P2/SK75/SI-SK is allowed and not vice versa.

Pre – selection process SK75

Obtaining a SK financial incentive is also partly conditional on participation in a pre-selection procedure aimed at helping to select the most appropriate start-ups by involving business experts in the evaluation process and by presenting business ideas in person. It is not necessary to participate in pre-selection, but it is highly recommended (points).

Conditions for participation in the pre-selection procedure SK75 includes:

• an innovative business idea with ambitions in the global market
• a developed solution that has already been tested by first customers or early adopters
• an entrepreneurial team (not necessarily already completed)
• commitment to the idea of 100% working time
• willingness to work according to modern entrepreneurship methodologies and to be included in support programmes

The pre-selection procedure for the SK75 tender, for which can you can collect up to 40 points in total, is a step-by-step process that cannot be skipped:

• 1. STEP: Submission of the online application form on the »prijave.startup.si« website
• 2. STEP: first presentations before a committee, at which the enterprise can collect up to 10 points
  • at least 6 points are required to advance to the next step
• 3. STEP: participation in a preparatory workshop
• 4. STEP: second presentations before a committee, at which the enterprise can earn up to 30 points
• 5. STEP: formal application for the SK75 tender of the Slovene Enterprise Fund

The deadlines for the individual steps depend on the date of publication of the tender. The exact dates are on the official page of the financial incentive, listed at the end of this page.

Other benefits of the pre-selection procedure:

• meeting of entrepreneurs with other entrepreneurial teams
• helping the entrepreneur prepare a quality application
• advising the entrepreneur in the further development of his business idea and business model and a detailed explanation of the possibilities of supporting the business model with supporting documents
• acquisition of a potential private investor
• assistance in a meaningful explanation and closure of the financial structure
• preparing the entrepreneur for the presentation

More about the financial incentive SK75

On the following links:

• official website of the financial incentive with tender documentation
• pre – selection process on the Start:up Slovenia webpage
• brochure of the Slovene Enterprise Fund
• application portal »prijave.startup.si«

The recipients of the SK75 financial incentive are eligible to their own start-up mentor and the inclusion into more than 10 specialized training programmes.

Substantive support and training programmes

The Slovene Enterprise Fund also provides intensive substantive support to the recipients of financial incentives in the form of a mentoring programme and other specialized, intensive and comprehensive support programmes. The main objective of the substantive support from the Startup Plus programme is to maximize and improve the impact of the Fund´s financial incentives for enterprises in the early stage.

The participation of enterprises in substantive programmes is reflected in the form of higher survival rates and faster international growth of start-up enterprises. Substantive programmes, therefore, play a key role in making start-ups more successful, both by acquiring new knowledge and acquaintances and by being better integrated into the ecosystem.

In addition to the mentoring programme, the following programmes are available to the recipients of financial incentives:

• Push2Start – an accelerator for P2 recipients
• SK Growth Camp – an accelerator for SK recipients
• PODIM conference – an opportunity of participation, foreign mentors and exhibition space
• Sales accelerator – a sales accelerator programme helps enterprises to meet their annual sales goals
• Grow Digital – a specialized vertical accelerator for enterprises in the health industry
• Startup clinic – elimination of critical risk of start-ups
• HardwareSTART – a vertical accelerator for the hardware industry
• Health.Tech.Growth – group and individual trainings on the topic of digital marketing and digital sales
• KorpoStart –  connecting start-ups with corporations
• NextRound – connecting start-ups with investors
• INTL – a programme for internationalisation, specialized in start-ups
• ScaleUpGrade – a specializyed programme for scale-up growth phase
• Startup.si – national and international promotion of start-up enterprises
• Teambuilding+ events, »All-inclusive« networking, education and socializing