How small and medium-sized businesses can get government support

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

An entrepreneur waiting for help from the state can count on federal and regional grants and subsidies.

The state constantly declares that it helps small and medium-sized businesses and allocates huge budgets for this. The reasons for this support are quite obvious:

• Firstly, in this way the state is fighting unemployment, which, by the way, in 2019 is.
• Secondly, with one-time subsidies, the state creates conditions for a stable growth in the number of permanent taxpayers who will further replenish its budget.

Let's figure out together what kind of support a small business can use.

Subsidies from the employment center

If you are just planning to open your own business, then you can safely contact the Employment Center at the place of registration to participate in the provision of subsidies to small and medium-sized businesses at the regional level.

To receive a subsidy, you need:

• be of legal age;
• register with the Employment Center and be unemployed for at least a month;
• have a realistic business plan (sometimes, in order to draw it up, you need to take special free courses at the Employment Centers);
• register as an individual entrepreneur (IE) or a legal entity.

This will allow you to receive a one-time payment of 12 maximum unemployment benefits. If you plan to hire employees who are also registered at the employment center, then you can get the same amount for each of them.

Also, officially unemployed citizens wishing to open their own business are provided with one-time financial assistance in the preparation of documents: for example, payment of state fees and the purchase of stamps and forms. The amount of both subsidies depends on the region.

On a pleasant note: these funds are issued free of charge, but on condition that you remain an individual entrepreneur or a legal entity for a year and pay taxes. It will also be necessary to report on the targeted spending of money, otherwise the funds will have to be returned.

Usually, funds for supporting entrepreneurship are pledged into the regional budget at the beginning of the calendar year. Here's how you can improve your chances of getting these subsidies:

• Register with the Employment Center at the end of the year. Then the registration of all the necessary documents will just have to be at the beginning of next year and the replenished budget.
• Develop a socially significant business. This includes the production of handicrafts (for example, Kolomna marshmallow) or technological solutions for vulnerable segments of the population (for example, electronic bracelets that help the elderly to call an ambulance).
• Create additional jobs.

Regional support programs

Grants are allocated from the regional budget to support priority activities for the state. Most often these are one-time gratuitous payments that are provided on a competitive basis. Important criteria for selection: the scope of the company, the amount of revenue, the number of jobs created.

Depending on the region, the amount of payments may vary, most often - up to 600,000 rubles.

In 2019, the "Support for Beginning Farmers" is working, where the size of the grant is up to 3,000,000 rubles. And in St. Petersburg, a number has been developed to support enterprises engaged in handicrafts, social entrepreneurship and the creation of children's centers.

Tip: take a look at the "local" portal of small and medium-sized enterprises - there you can get the most comprehensive information about the grants that are currently being implemented in your region.

Federal support programs

The Foundation for Assistance to the Development of Small Forms of Enterprises in the Scientific and Technical Sphere implements several at once, which are aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses.

• "Umnik" - assistance to young entrepreneurs (up to 30 years old). You can get up to 500,000 rubles, the priority area is innovative technologies.
• "Start" - support for startups in the early stages of development. It is carried out in two stages: first, the company is subsidized by the state, then it is necessary to find an investor.
• "Development" - support for companies with experience in the development and sale of science-intensive products: for example, medicines, computers, scientific instruments - everything that is created with a high share of research costs. To get support, it is necessary not only to increase the volume of sold science-intensive products, but also to create additional jobs.
• "Internationalization" is a program aimed at supporting companies that create joint projects with foreign partners or sell products in foreign markets. The allocated money should be used to improve products and promote them abroad.
• "Commercialization" is a program that makes it possible to expand production by increasing capacities. An important condition is an increase in the number of jobs.
• "Cooperation" is a program for large-scale industries. The goal of the program is to accelerate the growth of small science-intensive industries through guaranteed orders for the products created from medium and large technology enterprises.

Reimbursement of interest on a loan

Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs can compensate for part of the costs associated with the payment of interest on loans. These loans should be obtained for support and development of activities, including for the renewal of fixed assets. The exception is loans received for the purchase of light vehicles.

The conditions for obtaining and the amount of the subsidy depend on the region in which the business is registered. For example, you can familiarize yourself with the conditions for obtaining subsidy support in Moscow.