Microfinance Ireland (MFI) is a Government initiative to provide funding to both start-up and existing micro-enterprises that are having difficulty accessing credit through traditional lending channels.
Businesses that have less than 10 employees and turnover of less than €2million annually are eligible to apply for loan
AIB has launched a programme of supports aimed at helping startup businesses get off the ground, The supports form part of the bank’s Big Drive for Small Business initiative. Central to the programme is AIB’s Start UP Package which offers a range of incentives to people who open a Business Start up Current Account. These include: free banking for two years, an SME loan with a variable rate of 4.4% and 50% discount off the first years membership to an affiliated participating local Chamber of Commerce.
Word on the street however is that AIB are still not giving out loans to Small or Large Businesses!Looks to us as if AIB are merely going through the marketing motions!
