BICE Argentina Emprende (Entrepreneurship Program)
Funds Argentine entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized companies through BICE with loans and leasing for productive growth.
Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior (BICE) is Argentina's federal development bank, supervised by the Ministry of Economy, with a mandate to provide long-term financing for productive investment and foreign trade operations. BICE is a state-owned institution that operates exclusively through loan and leasing products — it does not disburse grants or non-repayable subsidies. The Programa Argentina Emprende represents BICE's general SME and entrepreneurship-oriented lending window, offering medium-to-long-term credit for capital investment, technological upgrade, and export-competitiveness projects.
Financing products available under this programme include long-term productive investment credits, working capital loans, equipment leasing (new and used assets, vendor leasing, real estate leasing), and export pre- and post-financing. Ticket sizes range from ARS 10 million to ARS 300 million (approximately USD 7,000 to USD 215,000 at reference exchange rates, subject to Argentina's exchange-rate volatility). BICE also extends sector-specific credits for regional economies — livestock, dairy, pork, and agro-food — payable in product units where applicable. All credits are structured with repayment terms aligned to the underlying investment's cash flow maturation, and foreign trade financing (COMEX lines, forfaiting) is USD-denominated.
For SMEs and startups seeking access, BICE does not operate a competitive grant round; applications are assessed individually based on the project's economic viability, sector alignment, and creditworthiness. The programme is most relevant to Argentine-registered companies with productive investment plans requiring medium-to-long-term debt at concessional-rate terms unavailable from commercial banks. Founders should note that Argentina's macroeconomic environment creates meaningful currency risk on ARS-denominated instruments and that ticket-size USD equivalents fluctuate substantially.
Argentine federal development bank loans and leasing for productive investment, working capital, and export operations by SMEs and entrepreneurs, with ticket sizes of ARS 10–300 million.
Sign up free to see the funding breakdown
Sign up free to see the industries in scope
Sign up free to see the full eligibility