Subsidies to businesses adversely affected by COVID-19
About this good practice
The business disruption caused by COVID-19 had a negative impact on companies' financial inflows, so financing was put in place to keep companies viable.
Resources needed
The total budget for the first call was €50 million and for the second one it was €100 million. The measure was administrated by the experts of three different institutions: State Tax Inspectorate, Lithuanian Business Support Agency, Competition Council.
Evidence of success
In the calendar year 2021, 16,622 enterprises benefited from the measure, receiving support for €84,998,645. 925 companies were from Transport and storage sector.
Potential for learning or transfer
COVID-19 disrupted business operations, resulting in financial losses for the companies. Due to the disruption of financial inflows, businesses needed a wide range of support to survive in the market, therefore non-refundable subsidy was crucial in this regard. Although other measures, such as soft loans, have been used in Lithuania, it is the non-refundable subsidy that has attracted the most attention, as companies did not need to make their own financial contribution. As a result, other countries could look at this support instrument to develop their own financial measures in the future if similar crisis would hit their business sector.