Vanliga frågor och svar om lån från Almi

State aid is when the state, a municipality or a region supports a business with public funds, for example through grants, loans on favourable terms, guarantees, surety commitments or rent subsidies. All state aid is subject to EU rules designed to ensure fair competition within the EU internal market.

When you apply for a loan from Almi, parts of the financing may be covered by state aid rules. We help you understand what this means for you and your company.

Read more about state aid on the government’s website

Most loans from Almi have a repayment period of 3–5 years. This can be adjusted depending on what you are financing and the type of loan.

The adviser will discuss which repayment schedule is best suited to your company.

A personal guarantee is a form of security that Almi may require when a limited company applies for a loan. This means that the owner or another individual guarantees part of the loan amount.

If the company cannot repay the loan, Almi can claim the agreed amount from the guarantor. Personal guarantees are a way to share risk and can make it possible for more companies to access financing, especially when banks are unwilling to take full risk.

The collateral required varies between different loans and is used to share risk.

• For Microloans, a limited personal guarantee of 10% is required.
• For Business Loans, Growth Loans, Export Loans and Green Loans, company charges combined with a limited personal guarantee are usually required.

The adviser will go through what is needed based on your company’s situation.

Almi’s interest rate is set individually based on the risk in your company and your repayment capacity. Since Almi often finances the part of a loan that banks cannot take, this means we take a higher risk. As a result, our interest rates are normally around 2–3 percentage points higher than those of banks.

You will receive an explanation of what affects your interest rate and why it is set at that level.