Support for small and\nmedium-sized enterprises in Slovakia is concentrated in a number of initiatives\nand support instruments. The aim of the 2021 Initiatives Guide is to provide\nquick access to information on the initiatives in a clear format to make it easier\nto navigate the existing forms of support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The institutional support\nframework consists of several institutions. The Slovak Business Agency, which\nhas several non-financial as well as financial options to support SMEs, is a\nkey player in terms of support for small and medium-sized enterprises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Non-financial assistance\nis also provided through National Projects. One of them is NP Monitoring of the\nbusiness environment in line with the application of the “Think Small\nFirst” principle. Its main objective is to provide comprehensive\ninformation on the business environment with an emphasis on SMEs. These include\nregular and irregular reports on SMEs, information material, studies and\nsurveys. The main objective of the NP Support for the internationalisation of\nSMEs is to strengthen the internationalisation capacities of SMEs, including\nthe presentation of entrepreneurial potential and the provision of free\npresentation, cooperation and advisory services to SMEs in order to increase\ntheir involvement in international cooperation. The other two National Projects\n– NP NEC II – Bratislava Self-Governing Region and NP NEC in the regions, aim\nto establish institutions – National Entrepreneurship Centres (NECs), which\nprovide under one roof comprehensive systematic support and expert advice for\nSMEs, as well as for those interested in entrepreneurship. Within the NECs,\nentrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs can use the following services: the Front\nOffice information centre, the Creative Point workshop, the Incubator and\nCoworking. Through various services and programmes, they also have the\nopportunity to benefit from counselling, consultation, project advice and to\nparticipate in workshops and seminars. Entrepreneurs can benefit from support\nin the form of participation in international events, internships and trade\nfairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other support programmes\nfor entrepreneurs and those interested in entrepreneurship are implemented by\nthe Slovak Business Agency through state schemes and programmes, including the\nSmall and Medium-Sized Enterprise Support Scheme, the Family Business Support\nScheme and the Successful Entrepreneurial Practice Support Programme, under\nwhich the SBA organises the Businesswoman of the Year competition. It also\nprovides significant support under the Start-up Support Programme and the\nInternet Economy Support Programme. Entrepreneurs can also get involved in\ninternational projects, which are also covered in this Guide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Financial support under\nthe SBA can be obtained through the Microloan Programme or through venture\ncapital funds such as Eterus Capital, the Innovation and Technology Fund, and\nthe Slovak Development Fund. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next part of the\ndocument is devoted to support programmes from the European Union. These are\nmainly the so-called euro funds, which are redistributed within the framework\nof the basic operational programmes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The European Union also\nprovides support through Community programmes. They are the EU’s instrument for\ndeepening cooperation and tackling common problems between EU Member States on\nspecific EU policies. These programmes are funded directly from the EU budget\nand managed by the European Commission. These include Horizon Europe, Creative\nEurope and COSME programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A significant part of the\ndocument is devoted to programmes and initiatives by public authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ministry of Economy\nof the Slovak Republic provides some subsidies to support business development\nor regional investment aid, especially to ensure the development of less\ndeveloped regions of Slovakia. Through the Slovak Investment and Trade\nDevelopment Agency (SARIO), it provides support for the internationalisation of\nSMEs (in cooperation with the SBA). SARIO also organises and co-creates\nconditions for the participation of Slovak entrepreneurs at exhibitions and fairs,\norganises business missions and cooperation meetings. The Slovak Innovation and\nEnergy Agency (SIEA) provides, among other things, free energy consulting and\neducation for entrepreneurs. It is also an implementer of support through\nCreative Vouchers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ministry of\nAgriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic provides state aid in\ndirect form (subsidy) or indirect form (de minimis aid) to business entities\noperating in the sector falling within the competence of the Ministry. It\nsuccessfully implements the project “Quality Mark SK” to promote\nSlovak products. It also uses the services of the Agricultural Payments Agency\nfor this support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Slovak Ministry of\nEnvironment, through the Slovak Environmental Agency, focuses on non-financial\nassistance to SMEs, such as Environmental Product Labelling. It provides\nfinancial assistance through the Environmental Fund in the form of grants,\nloans or compensations. .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In particular, the\nMinistry of Education, Science, Research and Sport provides incentives for\nscience and research in the Slovak Republic, which are also available to\nbusiness entities in cooperation with academia. Within direct subsidies, the\nmain focus is on the promotion of dual education. Other types of support are\nalso provided by the Agency for the Promotion of Science and Research through\nstate schemes, programmes and international projects, or by the Centre for\nScientific and Technical Information of the Slovak Republic (CVTI SR), which\nprovides information support for research and development up to its\nimplementation. The Research Agency implements research and innovation projects\nunder the OP Integrated Infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2021, the Ministry of\nCulture of the Slovak Republic is providing support through a subsidy system\nunder which entrepreneurs can receive subsidies through a number of programmes.\nThe support programmes of the Audiovisual Fund and the Fund for the Promotion\nof the Arts are also available to entrepreneurs in this segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ministry of Labour,\nSocial Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic is also an important body in\nterms of support for entrepreneurs. It provides support through the so-called\nactive labour market measures, self-employment allowances and contributions to\nentrepreneurs. It also provides a job retention allowance, a job creation\nallowance to support the creation of a job in the first regularly paid\nemployment. It implements specific programmes through state support, such as\nsupport for social enterprises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ministry of Finance\nof the Slovak Republic supports increased involvement of Slovak companies in\nbusiness in developing countries mainly through the Private Sector Support\nProgramme and supports Eximbank’s soft export credits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ministry of Foreign\nAffairs of the Slovak Republic provides support mainly at the international\nlevel. It also uses the services of its own Business Centre. The Slovak Agency\nfor International Development Cooperation (SAMRS) supports cooperation between\ncompanies and the non-profit and academic sectors in development projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ministry of\nInvestment, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic\nalso provides support in the field of regional development in the form of\nregional contribution or in the environment of innovation support in the form\nof subsidies and de minimis aid schemes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The financial instruments\nused to support entrepreneurship are at disposal to the Slovak Guarantee and\nDevelopment Bank which provides mainly bank guarantees and soft loans and to\nEximbanka which focuses on supporting development financing. Information on\nEximbank’s loan and insurance products is also provided in this 2021\nInitiatives Guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An important part of the\necosystem of support for entrepreneurs is also the Slovak Investment Holding\nand the European Investment Bank. The individual programmes are discussed in\ndetail in the document. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The overall system of\nbusiness support is complemented by other entities such as the Association of\nEntrepreneurs of Slovakia, the Slovak Craft Industry Federation, the Association\nof Young Entrepreneurs of Slovakia, the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and\nIndustry, the Slovak Chamber of Trade and the Slovak Agriculture and Food\nChamber. They provide their members with a number of opportunities to influence\nthe legislative process and provide them with advice and other benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the point of view of\nbusiness development, business development centres such as BIC Bratislava, RPIC\nPre\u0161ov, Innovation and Partnership Centre or incubators – University Technology\nIncubator of STU in Bratislava or Start-up Centre of TUKE are increasingly\nimportant. Crowdberry, Startlab, HitHit or Startova\u010d complement the funding\nopportunities also from other sources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both 2020 and 2021\nare years significantly affected by the pandemic of the new COVID-19 virus. A\nnumber of tools have been developed to support entrepreneurs to avert the\nnegative consequences of quarantine measures. These are summarised in the last\nsection of the 2021 SME Support Initiatives Guide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Support for small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovakia is concentrated in a number of initiatives and support instruments. The aim of the 2021 Initiatives Guide is to provide quick access to information on the initiatives in a clear format to make it easier to navigate the existing forms of support. The institutional support framework consists […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\n