In the next one and a half year restart period, about HUF 2,600 billion will be available for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, said the State Secretary responsible for economic strategy and regulation of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ITM) in Szolnok on Friday.
László György said at the Szolnok stop of the national professional roadshow supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises: of the 2,600 billion forints, 600 billion forints are non-refundable subsidies and 2,000 billion forints are preferential loans with almost zero percent interest, which the state supports with interest subsidies.
Furthermore, there is a capital structure if a company needs capital rather than a loan, he added.
He said that 100 billion forints of the 200 billion forint budget of the technology change support program were announced on Friday, which can be tendered for in a month. The evaluation of submitted applications takes a maximum of 45-60 days. The remaining amount of the program will be announced on schedule.
With this program, they support the investments of digitizing businesses investing in the technologies of the future. The subsidies go to businesses employing a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 249 people and can be used in proportion to the number of employees, he said.
He added: these are conditionally non-refundable grants, so they do not need to be repaid if the businesses digitize at their own level, because "this is the key to their survival". The other condition is that they must expand at twice the rate of Hungarian economic growth in the next three-year period.
The state secretary also spoke about the fact that more than three thousand businesses are currently receiving funds in the first round of the program in the Magyar Falu business restart program. This program will also appear at the end of August, with a budget of HUF 25-30 billion, but a total of HUF 50 billion will be available in the next six months.
This can be used by businesses in settlements with less than five thousand inhabitants, including the smallest ones that have not been reached by the support programs so far. The program is typically aimed at social enterprises with less than ten people, which provide value locally, said László György.
He said that the mentioned programs are specifically aimed at micro, small and medium enterprises, but the adult training programs can also be used by large companies.
He called it important that entrepreneurs invest in the most modern technology that represents the future, and that workers have the necessary knowledge to operate the technology, because this way they can strengthen jobs in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County and thus contribute to the growth of companies, he said.
György László highlighted that with the help of the renewed entrepreneur information vali.hu showed the portal to the entrepreneurs present.
In his presentation, the state secretary also spoke about the fact that 27,800 more people work in the primary labor market than a year ago, and jobs abroad and in public employment have disappeared. The Hungarian employment rate reached the level of V3 and exceeded the European Union average. Already in the first quarter of 2021
Hungary had the fourth largest GDP growth in the European Union, on a quarterly basis.
András Sziráki, the president of the Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: there is something to build on, the county's economy has reached HUF 3,000 billion. 59 percent of this was represented by the manufacturing industry, followed by commerce and agriculture, which is also on the podium. He added that in the last two years earnings have increased by more than 10 percent annually.
Ferenc Szalay, mayor of Szolnok (Fidesz-KDNP), said: of the city's 7.3 billion forint tax revenue in 2019, business tax accounted for approximately 5.6 billion forints and construction tax for 1.6 billion forints. In 2020, the business tax was reduced to HUF 4.6 billion, the amount of the construction tax did not change.
The city of Szolnok expects to lose one billion forints in taxes, which in his opinion can be managed with state compensation, the operation is fine, he added.
The series of events to help entrepreneurs was launched by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the regional chambers and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ITM) at the initiative of László György in 2019. The program has so far been attended by thousands of business representatives across the country.
MTI / hirado.hu
Cover image: Illustration - Photo: MTI/Péter Komka
