New government measures to boost SMEs: €10M hiring fund and successful investment support program

The Ministry of National Economy has earmarked a €10 million recruitment fund for businesses, and the investment support scheme seems to have attracted a large number of applicants, proving the usefulness of the plan.

Govt launches HUF 4.1bn scheme to boost headcount at SMEs

On Monday, State Secretary for Employment Policy Sándor Czomba announced the launch of a EUR 10m (HUF 4.1bn) program to support capacity expansions and new hires at SMEs.

Businesses may apply for up to almost EUR 6,200 (HUF 2.5m) per new hire –who must be jobseekers — to cover part of payroll costs and spending on equipment. The subsidies are for a period of six months, but applicants must pledge to keep the new hires employed for at least a year. Czomba said the program, with an application deadline of February 14, could support 1,700 new hires. During the previous phase of the scheme, he noted that some 560 SMEs had received support for close to 3,000 hires.

Close to 2,000 businesses apply for the Demján Sándor scheme SME investment support

Close to 2,000 small and medium-sized businesses submitted applications for the investment support component of the government’s Demján Sándor scheme on the January 23 deadline, the National Economy Ministry said at the weekend.

Out of the around 6,800 companies that pre-registered, some 1,885 applicants requested a combined HUF 136.9bn in investment funding, it added. Companies could apply for funding between HUF 5m and HUF 200m. The funding documents are expected to be issued in April 2025 and applicants will have 12 months to implement the investments and competitiveness improvements they planned.

As we wrote few days earlier, The government is weighing the addition of more products to an online platform that monitors the prices of a broad range of food at Hungary’s biggest supermarket chains, details HERE.

Also interesting is that many guest workers leave Hungary to work in other countries, prompting PM Orbán to introduce stricter measures. Read details HERE.