The government is to make €155m available to small and medium-sized businesses until 2019 to make it easier for them to finance growth, the Telegraaf reports on Tuesday.

The money will be funnelled through the various funds designed to support small businesses. The government expects that with money from private initiatives, a total of €2.5bn will be available for investment.

Economic affairs minister Henk Kamp told the Telegraaf the move is designed to offset the lack of lending to small and medium-sized firms by banks. ‘These businesses see opportunities for growth in the improving economy, but because of their often weak position the risk for the banks is too great,’ he said.

Guarantees

There will also be guarantees to the tune of €400m to encourage alternative forms of finance, such as through credit unions or crowdfunding, Kamp said. He hopes this will encourage more private investment.

In addition, the government will guarantee €500m in investments where a small business has little capital of its own but can find investors to finance its plans for growth.