Entrepreneurship Promotion Fund

The case study presents the Entrepreneurship Promotion Fund (EPF) which has been implemented in Lithuania under the Operational Programme for the Development of Human Resources 2007-2013 and which is funded by the European Social Fund. The main aims of the EPF are to promote self-employment and entrepreneurship. The EPF focused on start-ups and prioritised disadvantaged groups in order to fill the gap in funding for these groups. The case study shows how young SMEs, as well as unemployed people, disabled people, young people and older workers took advantage of low-interest loans and free training to set up businesses. It describes the objectives of the fund, set up of the financial instrument, strategy, achievements and lessons learned.