Starting this year, companies operating as social enterprises will have quick and easy access to credit on very favourable conditions. The Enterprise Fund will allocate €12 million of unspent funds from the previous financial framework to microloans this year, each beneficiary receiving up to €25,000. The loans will be granted under favourable conditions, with a low interest rate and a long repayment period. Maja Tomanič Vidovič, the director of the Enterprise Fund, pointed out that microloans are only the latest addition to the variety of financial incentives provided by the Fund to over 700 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
The State Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, Tadej Slapnik, explained that the social entrepreneurship sector includes not only enterprises but also cooperatives, adding that “agricultural cooperatives are very well developed in Slovenia, but there is still a great deal of room for further development and improvement in housing, worker and youth cooperatives. ”There are nearly 130 social enterprises currently registered in Slovenia. Slapnik expects the number to grow significantly in the coming months, along with the number of people employed by social enterprises. Nena Dokuzov, head of the social entrepreneurship division at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, underlined the importance of youth cooperatives, which make it easier for young people to enter the labour market.