ENISA provides a participative loan of €25,000 to €1,500,000 with no collateral or guarantees. The condition people trip over most often is this: the company’s own funds must be at least equal to the loan amount, and they must be held as share capital — with a notarial deed and an entry in the commercial register. Until there is a registered deed, the money is not transferred, even if the application has already been approved.
Below: how the instrument works, what ENISA counts as own funds, why more applications fail on timing than on the business plan, and what is assessed besides the plan itself.
What a participative loan is and how it differs from a bank loan
A préstamo participativo (participative loan) is a hybrid between a loan and investor money. It differs from a bank loan in two ways.
No collateral or guarantees. The ENISA website says so directly: sin garantías reales ni personales. What is assessed is the viability of the project, not the founder’s assets. Your personal assets are not put at risk — and this is the main reason people go to ENISA instead of a bank.
The interest rate has two parts. The first tranche is 12-month Euríbor plus a margin of 4% to 6%: the margin depends on the rating ENISA assigns to the application (from A1 to C3) and is written into the loan agreement. First-tranche interest is paid quarterly. The second tranche is variable and depends on your company’s financial profitability: earn more, pay more, but never above a cap of 4.5% to 6.5% under the same rating, and in a loss-making year the second tranche is zero. That is the meaning of the word “participative”: the lender participates in the results.
There is also a third feature people remember later: for commercial law purposes the participative loan itself counts as part of equity. It makes the balance sheet look better, and talking to private investors is easier after ENISA than before.
And a caveat straight away, because the two are constantly confused: ENISA has two different roles. Here it is a lender. But it also issues the report on the innovativeness of a project for the startup visa — that is a separate procedure unrelated to the loan, and it is covered in our article on renewing the startup residence permit.
Who can apply
Besides own funds (covered below), ENISA requires the following of the company:
- it is registered in Spain, with its tax address and main activity here;
- it is an SME (pyme): fewer than 250 employees and turnover under €50 million a year or a balance sheet under €43 million;
- any sector except real estate and finance;
- the accounts for the last financial year have been filed with the Registro Mercantil, and for a loan above €300,000 they must also be externally audited;
- no debts to the tax authority (Hacienda) or Social Security;
- the activity does no significant harm to the environment (the DNSH principle);
- an innovative model with clear competitive advantages and a business plan showing that the loan will be repaid.
The accounts requirement leads to a conclusion ENISA does not spell out: a company that has not yet closed a single financial year cannot apply. For an SL set up for a move to Spain or for the startup visa, this means planning the ENISA application after the first annual accounts are filed. How to set up the SL itself is covered on the company registration in Spain page.
There is an opening fee of 0.5% of the loan amount: €750 on €150,000. Early repayment at the company’s request or on a change of control also costs money: the fee equals the second-tranche interest the loan would have earned over its full term, minus what has already been paid.
Your own funds must be at least what you ask for
ENISA’s wording: tus fondos propios deben ser, como mínimo, iguales a la cuantía del préstamo — own funds must be at least equal to the loan amount. Ask for €150,000 — show €150,000 of your own.
This is not “desirable” but a condition for your application to be considered. On the ENISA website it is stated for the general line with no exceptions. ENISA sets the loan amount partly on the basis of the company’s own funds and financial structure.
What ENISA counts as own funds:
- share capital;
- share premium;
- reserves and retained earnings;
- shareholder contributions to cover losses, if properly documented;
- participative loans from other investors — provided they will be capitalised.
Money in a current account is not on this list in itself. What matters is not the balance but how the funds are booked.
The money must be held as capital, not sitting in an account
This leads to the step that most often breaks the schedule. The shareholders’ contribution is formalised as a share capital increase: an escritura pública before a notary and an entry in the Registro Mercantil (commercial register). ENISA does not transfer the money until it receives the registered deed. How a capital increase differs from a contribution to account 118 and a shareholder loan is covered in the article on funding your Spanish SL.
The trap is that all three timeframes run one after another and you control none of them. Processing the application takes its time. The notary takes theirs. The register takes its own. You need to work out this schedule before applying: by the time you receive the approval letter, you should already have a plan that accommodates the notary and the register.
Carencia is a grace period on the principal, not an interest-free period
The word carencia is often translated as “interest-free period”, and that is wrong. Carencia is the period during which you do not repay the principal but do pay interest. On the general line it lasts up to two years, and together with the repayment period the total term reaches seven years.
For projects with a long production cycle this is the instrument’s main value: while the product is being built and there is no revenue, the payment consists of interest alone, and repayment of the principal starts once the product is already on the market.
Amounts and lines
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Loan amount, € | 25,000 — 1,500,000 |
| Collateral and guarantees | not required |
| Own funds | at least the loan amount |
| Carencia, years | up to 2 |
| Repayment including carencia, years | up to 7 |
| Interest rate, first tranche | 12M Euríbor + 4–6% by application rating |
| Interest rate, second tranche | linked to profitability, capped at 4.5–6.5% |
| Opening fee | 0.5% |
There is currently no separate line for young entrepreneurs on the ENISA website (checked on 10 October 2026). There is the general “Startups y pymes” loan and sector programmes: Emprendedoras Digitales for companies led by women, AgroInnpulso for the agri-food sector, Innovación x Clima and a programme for audiovisual and creative industries. The full list of business support programmes, including CDTI, ICO and regional ones, is covered separately — business development grants in Spain.
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What is assessed besides the business plan
The plan has to add up, but a plan alone is not enough. Two arguments work best.
Do not confuse this with the visa: ENISA reads a business plan for the entrepreneur permit against different criteria — the project’s innovation and economic interest, not the ability to repay a loan. See the business plan for the Spanish startup visa.
Proven traction, not promises. For a mobile product, retention turned out to matter more than revenue: how many users come back on day one and day seven. A figure you can show outweighs a forecast that cannot be checked.
A clear money model. Not “we will monetise later” but measured behaviour: how many times a user watches an ad per session, what conversion rates similar products achieve, why a subscription was chosen rather than one-off purchases.
Both arguments come down to the same thing: turning an intention into a number that can be verified.
Consultants: what they charge a fee for
A market for ENISA application support has developed, and it usually works for a percentage of the amount raised, payable on success: no loan, no fee.
This is practice, not a fixed tariff: everyone has their own terms, and you need to check them in the contract rather than rely on general statements. Paying makes sense where the application runs in parallel with other matters and there is physically no time for it — not where it simply feels daunting.
What most often derails applications
- Own funds not formalised. The money exists but sits in an account instead of being booked as capital. Formally the condition is not met.
- Timeframes not aligned. Approval has been received, but the notary and register stages are only just starting. The transfer is delayed, and spending plans slip with it.
- A plan without verifiable numbers. A revenue forecast without a single measured metric reads as wishful thinking.
- Application submitted at the last minute. Line budgets are limited and are used up during the year.
If your company is just entering the Spanish market, the sequence of steps and the key decision points are covered separately: entering the Spanish market.
Frequently asked questions
Is collateral or a guarantee required?
No. ENISA states explicitly that the loan is granted without real or personal guarantees: what is assessed is the viability of the project, not the founder’s assets.
How much of your own money do you need?
Own funds must be at least equal to the loan amount. This is how ENISA states the requirement for the general line; there is currently no separate, softer line for young entrepreneurs on the ENISA website.
Is carencia an interest-free period?
No. During the carencia period the principal is not repaid, but interest is paid. On the general line carencia lasts up to two years, and up to seven years together with the repayment period.
Why isn’t the money transferred straight after approval?
Because the shareholders’ contribution must be formalised as a share capital increase: a notarial deed and an entry in the commercial register. ENISA does not transfer the funds until it receives the registered deed.
Can ENISA be combined with other financing?
Yes, and in practice that is what people do: for commercial law purposes the participative loan counts as part of equity, so afterwards it is easier to talk to private investors and regional development institutions.
Can a newly formed company apply?
Only once the accounts for its first financial year have been filed: ENISA requires the annual accounts for the last year to be deposited with the Registro Mercantil. The company must also be an SME, have no debts to Hacienda or Social Security and not operate in real estate or finance.
Sources
The loan conditions are taken from the official ENISA website, the section on financing for startups and SMEs: amounts, the absence of guarantees, the own-funds requirement, the company requirements, how the interest rate works, the fee and carencia. The margin scale by rating comes from the FEPYME operational guide on the same website. Checked on 10 October 2026.
This article is for information only. Line amounts, terms and requirements are revised, so check the current page of the line on the ENISA website before applying.
- What a participative loan is and how it differs from a bank loan
- Who can apply
- Your own funds must be at least what you ask for
- The money must be held as capital, not sitting in an account
- Carencia is a grace period on the principal, not an interest-free period
- Amounts and lines
- What is assessed besides the business plan
- Consultants: what they charge a fee for
- What most often derails applications
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
