December 4, 2014. SME Investment Fund (aka Sverdlovsk Investment Fund) now operates in Sverdlovsk Region. An applying company can receive between 11.5m RUR and 34.5m RUR worth of investments, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department reports.

The Fund is expected to invest in existing small and medium enterprises trying to expand their production. Machine-building, the metallurgical sector, new materials, chemical technologies, medicine and pharmaceuticals, electronics and tool-making, IT, the timber industry, and the environment will be considered priority investment targets, as these are the market segments that will matter most to Sverdlovsk Region’s economic development in 2015-2020.

In order to get financing, a company must manage to attract at least 50% of the funding from private investors. Investments can be made through buying a share in the company’s authorized capital or through an investment loan with delayed start of principal and interest repayment. A company might cooperate with the Fund for up to five years; the Fund’s minimum interest is set at 10% a year.