Direct loan for Research, Development and Innovation Société Nationale de Crédit et d'Investissement (SNCI) Direct loans for Research, Development and Innovation granted by Société Nationale de Crédit et d'Investissement (SNCI) aims to encourage and help innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Beneficiaries Direct loans for Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) can be granted to innovative SMEs which possess a business permit issued pursuant to the law of 2 September 2011 (right of establishment) for at least 4 years and have a substantial impact on national economic development. Beneficiaries are innovative enterprises, in so far as it can be demonstrated on the basis of a business plan that they will develop and commercialise products/services, processes or organisational methods that are new or substantially improved/changed as compared to the state of the art in the concerned industry sector, and which carry a risk of technical or industrial failure. The innovative character of processes/organisational methods should be of a technological nature, except for the measures in favour of the protection of the environment, natural habitats or human and work environments. The innovative character of products or services should be of a technological, commercial and/or organisational nature. Eligible costs Investments in depreciable assets and negative operational cash-flows carried out within the project of business development, in particular costs related to equipment, machinery and professional facilities, personnel expenditures, patent filing fees, expenses related to contract research, use of databanks, technical libraries and laboratories, acquisition of patents/licenses, project feasibility studies, innovation support services like market research, implementation of new regulatory standards, testing and certification, as well as a one-year budget related to marketing/promotion of new products/services, are eligible for the RD&I loan. Production and distribution costs, as well as land and buildings, are excluded. Types of loan The RD&I loan cannot be greater than €250,000 without exceeding 40% of eligible costs and taking into account the extent of the project and the size of the company. At least 35% of investments and expenses shall be co-financed by the company's own resources. The amount of the SNCI loan (or SNCI loans) cannot exceed the total amount of equity of the loan beneficiary. The maximum loan duration is 10 years. It is fixed on the basis of the project requirements. Loans are disbursed according to the disbursement plan determined during the loan application process. This disbursement plan defines the disbursement periods, the proportionate share of each project co-financier and, where required, the milestones required for each loan draw-down. The repayment schedule is fixed on the basis of the project requirements with a first repayment due no later than two years after the conclusion of the contract. In principle, repayment is done by constant quarterly instalments. Early repayments are possible without penalty. Submitting an application Applications must be sent directly to SNCI with the required documentation enclosed. Application must be received by the SNCI before the start of the innovation project.
