March 6, 2014. Sverdlovsk Region Business Support Fund held a meeting to adopt new ways of supporting SMEs in 2014. This year, the main innovation will consist in a gradual switch from subsidies to mechanisms that could provide a certain ROI. The fund will keep on issuing preferential term loans through its partner banks to finance investment projects and will keep on acting as a guarantor on the businesspeople's bank loans, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region's Information Policies Department says.

In 2014, 488m RUR will be directed to equipment upgrades (172.8m RUR will come from Sverdlovsk Region budget and 307.2m will come from the federal budget), 25m RUR will be directed to subsidizing advance payments on leasing (9m RUR will come from Sverdlovsk Region budget and 16m will come from the federal budget).

This year, businesspeople will be able to apply to the municipal business support funds that will issue micro-loans (up to 1m RUR for up to 12 months, with 10% a year interest rate).

Besides, it was also decided in the course of the meeting that an investment agency would be set up on the basis of this fund.