This article is part of an interview with Monaco Open for Business: Serge Pierryves, Director of Monaco’s Business Development Agency (Direction de l’Expansion Economique).
During the first year of a new business activity, Monegasque citizens or their spouses may apply for a grant or a loan to help them finance the setting up of a new business, on condition that the business is their only professional activity, that is, that they have no other paid activity. This aid can be obtained for any business activity for self-employed workers or companies in the sectors of commerce, industry, artisanal, professional and services.
The grant consists of two components and is generally granted for a three-year period.
The first component is a contribution towards the payment of rent for business premises to be used as the head office or main premises. It is paid in the form of a subsidy and is capped on a sliding scale each year (€710 per month in the first year, €510 per month in the second year and €300 per month in the third year).
The second component covers contributions towards social charges for self-employed workers. In other words, the state will cover health and pension payments to the Caisse d’Assurance Maladie des Travailleurs Indépendants (CAMTI) and to the Caisse Autonome des Retraites des Travailleurs Indépendants (CARTI).
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This grant represents more than €5,000 per year for each beneficiary, and an annual budget of around €650,000 for the state.
Beneficiaries can also obtain an installation loan to help them cover any work needed to be carried out on the business premises and to purchase furniture, materials and stock. It can also be used to buy a business or a lease. The loan is capped at €100,000 (and 80 percent of the value of the investment), for a maximum period of ten years.
The loan can be reimbursed in advance, at any time, without penalties being incurred.
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