The COVID Prague program was exhausted by entrepreneurs in ten minutes
According to the information provided by the municipality, the applications will be evaluated within a few weeks. The program was prepared by Prague in cooperation with the Czech-Moravian Guarantee and Development Bank (ČMZRB). For the first time ever, entrepreneurs from the capital have the opportunity to reach for money (respective loan guarantees). Previous programs were not a destination for the metropolis.
The interest in drawing funds in the COVID Prague program was – as in the case of the COVID I and COVID II programs – enormous, the capacity was filled ten minutes after the start of applications.
Grandma should hurry, Hřib asks
“I ask Prime Minister Babiš to launch the COVID III program as soon as possible. From the speed of submitting applications, it is evident that Prague entrepreneurs are now fighting for time. We have already done our best. Prague cannot continue to replace the role of the government, “says the mayor of Prague, Zdeněk Hřib.
“There is a hunger for money in Prague and the capital’s budget is far from satisfying it. It is outrageous that the Prague region should receive support from the government only in the third wave, which we do not yet know when it will be launched. A quarter of all entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic are registered in Prague, ”complains Vít Šimral, Councilor for Business Support.
According to him, there are up to one hundred thousand registered entrepreneurs in the metropolis in the most affected sectors, such as hospitality, massage, reconditioning and sports services, hairdressing, cosmetics and transport services.
Targeted liquidation of Prague entrepreneurs?
“The government’s action looks like the targeted liquidation of Prague’s entrepreneurs and sole traders. What the government calls rescue is utterly insufficient aid and, moreover, only for the chosen ones. The aid must be massive and comprehensive. The government and bi-minister Havíček is still failing and is not helping Prague businessmen, “says Jiří Pospíšil, chairman of the United Forces for Prague club.
“The capital city of Prague has set aside a total of 600 million crowns for the guarantee program. The interest of Prague entrepreneurs was enormous and the program was exhausted in just ten minutes. All 378 applications received also contain the required confirmation of the approved loan, for which we should guarantee. Thanks to this, we will be able to evaluate the entire COVID Prague program quickly, “says Jiří Jirásek, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of ČMZRB. In previous programs, however, ČMZRB was overwhelmed and the evaluation of applications was permanently disproportionately long.
The follow-up COVID III program to support entrepreneurs, including those active in the capital city of Prague, was approved in April and will be ready in early May.
Under it, ČMZRB will guarantee loans from commercial banks, however, thanks to the new legislation of the European Union, the mechanism will be much simpler and the entrepreneur will deal only with his bank. 150 billion crowns will be allocated to the program, that is. ČMZRB will thus be able to guarantee loans of up to 600 billion and thus support around 120,000 self-employed and companies employing up to 500 employees.
In the first three months of this year, ČMZRB provided financial support to a small medium-sized entrepreneur in the amount of over 3.7 billion crowns, which represents a year-on-year increase of 14%. It thus exceeded the year-on-year numbers from 2019, which was the most successful in history so far. 1,200 domestic companies achieved support in the form of a guarantee or a soft loan.
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