The funding will be used to meet the cash-flow needs of Catalan enterprises operating in Algeria or doing business with Algerian firms to keep their operations running smoothly.

The financing available consists of working capital loans with a term of up to five years and the option of an initial interest-only period of up to two years. Companies can choose a fixed or variable interest rate and the loans will have no processing, arrangement or early repayment fees.

Minister of Economy and Finance Jaume Giró pointed out that Catalan exports to Algeria have been strong over recent years and the Government is rolling out measures including this financing facility “to help safeguard the solvency of industrial and agri-food initiatives and ones by exporters in general which may have been adversely affected by the banking and trade blockade.” He noted that Algeria is among the five biggest markets for Catalan exports of agri-food produce such as fruit, soybean oil and margarine together with other related products including packaging and packing machines and odoriferous mixtures for foodstuffs.

Jordi Òliva Ritort, the ICF’s CEO, welcomed the financing available for companies hampered by the Algerian conflict. “The ICF has the right solutions in place to finance the working capital needs of the Catalan companies concerned,” he argued, adding that “these loans step up the ICF’s commitment to supporting the entrepreneurial community.”

The ICF has set up a digital platform where companies can specify what they need to make it easier to arrange the funding. After receiving a request, the institution will get in touch with the company to advise them and walk them through the loan application process. The platform can be accessed via this link: https://www.icf.cat/ca/common/solucions-financament-crisi-algeria/