EU Funding

The guaranteed loan for digitalization: how the FNGCIMM route works

Not every digitalization funding is a grant: through FNGCIMM, POCIDIF offers state-guaranteed credit, sweetened by a non-repayable component.

Northdan Soft is a software supplier, not a funding consultancy, and is not affiliated with any managing authority or development agency. Programme information is indicative — always check the conditions in the programme's official applicant guide.

The word guaranteed describes what happens between the state and the bank, not between the state and your company: if the borrower stops paying, the fund covers part of the lender's loss, and the borrower still owes the whole amount. Everything practical follows from that. For digitalization investments the only European-funded scheme of this type is the instrument run by FNGCIMM SA–IFN, Romania's national SME credit guarantee fund, inside POCIDIF 2021-2027, the operational programme for smart growth, digitalisation and financial instruments. Its published parameters: a guarantee rate of up to 80% per transaction, a 0% guarantee fee, a maximum guaranteed loan equal to the RON equivalent of EUR 500,000, investment loans of up to 72 months with a grace period of at most 12 months, and a grant component granted as de-minimis aid in the form of a capital rebate of 20% on investment loans or an interest subsidy. The entry condition is age: at least one year since incorporation and one full fiscal year of activity, with the registered office and the funded activity in Romania. Verified on 30 July 2026: the call for expressions of interest addressed to credit institutions ran with clarifications published up to 24 June 2026, and the instrument's partner-bank page still lists no bank, so the route cannot be contracted today.

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How we help

Documentation accepted by the bank and by the scheme

Our technical offer details the software investment to the level of rigour required simultaneously by the credit analyst and by the scheme administrator.

A budget broken down for the guarantee calculation

We structure the cost breakdown into clear components, so the bank can size the loan, the guarantee and the grant-covered part precisely.

Implementation paced to the repayments

We stage development so the solution's benefits — savings, new sales — appear early, when the company starts repaying.

The anatomy of a guaranteed loan with a grant

Step one: the company goes to a bank partnered with the scheme with a digitalization project and its documentation. The bank assesses creditworthiness as it would for any investment loan, but the FNGCIMM guarantee covers up to 80% of each transaction, with a portfolio-level guarantee cap of 25% and no guarantee fee charged to the borrower.

Step two: alongside the loan, the scheme attaches the non-repayable component. It takes the form of a capital rebate — 20% on investment loans, 10% on working-capital loans tied to a prior investment — or of an interest subsidy covering the first 24 months on investment loans and the first 12 months on working-capital loans. The total grant cannot exceed 49% of the loan received by a final beneficiary, and it counts inside the EUR 300,000 de-minimis ceiling over three years set by Regulation (EU) 2023/2831.

Who this route makes sense for

The right profile: a company with a decent financial track record and a digitalization project that generates measurable value — an ERP that cuts operating costs, a platform that opens a sales channel. Repayment requires the investment to produce, not merely to exist.

The wrong profile: a company with no repayment capacity hoping for free money. Refinancing is not accepted either, and the support cannot accompany loans for activities or costs that have already received other public funding, European or national.

As the software vendor we prepare the technical material you take to the bank and to your consultant: solution description, functionality, delivery schedule and itemised costs. We do not negotiate with the bank, do not assess creditworthiness and do not promise approval.

Frequently asked questions

How much can I borrow through the POCIDIF-FNGCIMM guarantee scheme?

The maximum guaranteed loan is the RON equivalent of EUR 500,000, at the reference rate valid on the date the financial intermediary signs the financing contract with the beneficiary, subject to the de-minimis conditions. The guarantee rate reaches 80% per transaction and the guarantee fee is 0%.

Is a guaranteed loan easier to obtain than a digitalization grant?

It is more predictable, not necessarily easier: you do not wait for sessions and do not compete on score, but you go through the bank's creditworthiness assessment. Companies in weak financial shape can be turned down by the bank just as a weak file fails a grant evaluation.

Which technical documents do I need for a guaranteed-loan file?

The bank and the scheme want to see what you are concretely investing in: the description of the software solution, the functionality, the delivery schedule and the itemised costs. That is exactly the package Northdan produces, signed by the vendor who then also delivers the implementation.