As part of the EU-financed schemes providing refundable funding, the GINOP-8-1.1-16 loan scheme aims to promote the research, development and innovation activities of financially viable, revenue-driven businesses which are unable or hardly able to get sufficient funding from the money markets. In the framework of this scheme, applicants may receive loan on preferential terms to finance the development and marketing of new, marketable products, services, technologies and prototypes with significant intellectual added value. As a requirement laid down by the Managing Authority announcing the loan scheme, applicants have to obtain the endorsing RDI policy opinion of the NRDI Office.

In this first round the NRDI Office issued its opinion for 4 project proposals with total funding request of HUF 6.8 billion. The proposals were first assessed by anonymous experts against the assessment criteria set out in the call. Based on the anonymous evaluations, the proposals were then assessed by a group of five experts with great professional competence and considerable experience in assessing proposals from the perspective of the loan scheme. Finally, the expert group recommended the President of the NRDI Office to endorse 1 proposal with a loan request of HUF 3 billion and to reject 3 proposals. Applications for funding can only be submitted for the project proposals after receipt of an endorsing RDI policy opinion.

The total budget of the loan scheme is HUF 42.19 billion. The remaining budget remains open to project proposals which first have to be submitted to the NRDI Office for the RDI policy opinion.