In just one week, Dutch startups, scale-ups and innovative SMEs have applied for 385 million euros in Corona-Overbruggingslening (COL), an emergency loan program for companies that don’t have access to credit facilities. Since not all applications will be granted, and in some cases shareholders are required to cofinance, an estimated 135-155 million euros will actually be needed to cover all eligible applications. The program has only 100 million euros available, however.
In addition to the COL, the 100 million euros Temporary Bridging Loan Program for Innovative Startups and Scale-ups (TOPPS) has received 21 applications, worth 130 million euros. TOPPS has a lower limit of two million euros, COL handles loans ranging from 50,000 to 2 million euros.