A total of 130 loans worth 120.9 million kuna were granted by July this year, while six applications are being processed and if approved, 126.3 million kuna, or 97 per cent of the entire loan portfolio, will have been exploited, the county office for economic development said on Tuesday, adding that the amounts of some loans granted might be increased.
A total of 230 applications were received from last September, when the programme went into force, to February, when the amount of loans requested exceeded the portfolio.
The loan programme, called "Local Development Projects - Entrepreneur", was launched by the Ministry of the Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship.
The money was provided by six commercial banks, while the county, the Economy Ministry, and the Ministry of the Family, War Veterans and Inter-Generational Solidarity are subsidising interest.
Commercial banks' interest rate is 5.8 per cent and entrepreneurs use subsidies depending on the type of the project.
The lowest loan amount is 5,000 euros, the highest has not been determined yet, the repayment period is 10 years with a maximum two year's grace.
(EUR1 = 7.3 kuna)