Development Fund: 8,000 start-up loans at a rate of 1.5 per cent

The Development Fund of the Republic of Serbia, based in Nis, had through 14 May 2026 disbursed more than 8,000 start-up loans with a combined volume of 92.4 billion dinars (about 787 million euros at the NBS mid-rate of 117.4182 dinars to one euro), according to a statement the institution published on its own website. The current credit line framework runs at annual rates of 1.5 to 2.8 per cent, with individual amounts from 300,000 to 250 million dinars depending on the credit rating of the entrepreneur or legal entity and the type of collateral.

The 1.5 per cent rate, the lowest in the Fund’s portfolio, is granted to applicants who hold a commercial bank guarantee (a collateral instrument that lowers the rate by one percentage point) and a qualified business plan in the manufacturing or IT services sector. The standard rate, without a bank guarantee, ranges from 2.2 to 2.8 per cent and applies to mortgage-backed loans secured against land or buildings, the assignment of receivables from state institutions up to 10 million dinars, or a personal guarantee from an individual of up to 1 million dinars.

Three programmes, one budget

The Fund operates through three separate programmes: start-up loans for newly founded legal entities (up to three years old), loans for permanent working capital and a programme for stimulating entrepreneurship through development projects. The largest programme by approval volume is the working capital programme, which in 2025 came in at 41.2 billion dinars of the 67.8 billion dinars of total approvals. The start-up segment, the subject of the greatest public interest, accounts for 19.4 per cent of the portfolio by volume but 38 per cent by the number of individual contracts.

Vidosava Dzeletovic Ivanov, director general of the Development Fund, said at a press conference in Belgrade on 16 May that “in the first quarter of 2026 the number of start-up loan applications grew by 27 per cent on the same period in 2025, while the volume of approvals grew more slowly, by around 14 per cent”. The gap reflects stricter application of the credit methodology and selection on business-model sustainability criteria.

Combining with grant funding

Under its programme for underdeveloped municipalities, the Fund offers a grant component of 20 per cent of the loan principal in standard cases, rising to 30 per cent in fourth-group municipalities (Bujanovac, Presevo, Crna Trava, Trgoviste). On top of that, applicants who qualify for the EU IPA III HAMAG-BICRO programme can secure a write-off of up to 50 per cent of the loan principal, and for non-profit users in certain sectors (culture, social enterprises) there is scope to have up to 100 per cent of costs covered through IPA grants.

Sasa Stevanovic, president of the Association of Small Enterprises of Serbia, told the portal eKapija on 21 May that “the combination of a Fund loan and a HAMAG-BICRO guarantee brings the effective rate below 1 per cent, which is lower than Euribor plus the standard spread on a commercial loan”. Typical HAMAG combinations run between 3 and 12 million dinars.

Geographic distribution

The distribution of approved loans in 2025 shows concentration across three macro-regions: Belgrade 31 per cent, Vojvodina 28 per cent, Sumadija and Western Serbia 22 per cent, and Southern and Eastern Serbia 19 per cent. Compared with the same period in 2020 the distribution has shifted south and east, thanks above all to the 30 per cent grant component for the fourth development group, introduced as a regional balancing tool in 2024. Development Fund contact centres are based in Nis (head office), Belgrade and Novi Pazar.

What is being prepared for the second half of 2026

On 19 May the Ministry of the Economy opened the draft amendments to the Development Fund Act for public consultation. The draft introduces a new credit line for green technologies at an annual rate of 1 per cent and a grant component of up to 40 per cent of principal. The line targets projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency and the circular economy, with individual amounts of 1 to 50 million dinars. The public consultation runs until 18 June, with the amendments scheduled for adoption at the June session of the Serbian National Assembly.