Start-up loans in Ireland: who will lend to a business with no trading history, and who will not

UK and Northern Ireland pages do not apply here

Many results for this search are UK pages. The UK government-backed Start Up Loans, of £500 to £25,000, are only for people who live in the UK with a UK-based business. Northern Ireland is in the UK. A business in the Republic cannot apply.

Some older Irish pages quote Microfinance Ireland terms from before September 2024, when its top loan went up to €50,000. Today it lends €2,000 to €50,000 at 6.5%, or 5.5% with a referral from a Local Enterprise Office or your bank. Its Start Up Loan is for a business up to 12 months old, with 3 months of interest only.

Who will lend to a start-up

In alphabetical order:

• Banks. AIB has no separate start-up loan, but a new business can apply for its standard loans. Bank of Ireland asks a start-up for a business plan and a statement of affairs. PTSB publishes no start-up terms, so ask first.
• County enterprise funds. Louth lends up to €25,000 to start-ups and growing firms, typically at 7%. Donegal has loans under €25,000 and under €6,000, if the fund has money available. Cavan lends to new and expanding businesses, usually in manufacturing, tradable services and tourism. Each lends only in its own county. Our page on the three local loan funds that date from the late 1980s has the contacts.
• Credit unions. Many lend to sole traders and companies, and some advertise start-up loans. You must be able to join the credit union, and each sets its own amounts and rates. See how a credit union business loan works and the common bond.
• Microfinance Ireland. The State-backed lender for businesses with fewer than 10 staff that have difficulty getting a bank loan. In 2025, 51% of the loans it approved went to start-ups. Read the full terms of its six loan packages.
• Western Development Commission. Loans usually of €50,000 to €300,000 for businesses in Clare, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo. It invests from the start-up stage, but a loan needs positive cashflow and the ability to repay.

The lenders side by side

Who will not: the online lenders

Each online lender sets a minimum time trading:

• Flender has taken no applications on its website since March 2025. When it lent, it asked for two years of trading.
• GRID Finance asks for at least 9 months of trading and income of about €10,000 a month.
• Linked Finance asks for turnover over €100,000 and, in its FAQ, 12 months of trading. Its product pages say two years.
• Wayflyer asks for 6 months if you sell goods or software and 2 years for retail and services, with revenue of €10,000 a month. It funds incorporated businesses only.

Two asset finance firms, Capitalflow and Finance Ireland, publish no minimum trading time for vehicle and equipment finance. Neither publishes start-up terms.

What every lender asks a start-up for

With no accounts to show, the plan and forecast make the case. Between them, lenders ask for:

• a business plan: what you will sell, to whom, your experience, and what the money is for
• a cashflow forecast, month by month for at least 12 months, with the loan repayments in it
• bank statements, usually 6 months, personal and business
• a statement of affairs, listing what you own and owe
• your own money in the project. Credit Review's guide says a bank normally looks for about 30% from the borrower
• a check of your credit record. AIB says a start-up's history may be judged on the owner's personal record
• proof that your tax is in order

Our guide to preparing a loan application and the checks behind it covers each one.

If you are refused

1. Ask for the reasons in writing. A regulated lender has to give them, specific to your application.
2. Appeal inside the lender. It must give you at least 20 working days.
3. If the lender was AIB, Bank of Ireland or PTSB and the appeal fails, ask the independent State reviewer to look at it within 30 days.
4. Ask the bank for a referral letter to Microfinance Ireland. It takes 1% off the rate there.
5. Fix what the reasons point to before you apply again. Each application shows on the Central Credit Register for six months.

We take no commission or payment from any lender. This page is information only, not financial advice.

Common questions

Keep reading

• the start-up section of Bank of Ireland's loan page, with its rate
• loans and equity from €50,000 for the seven western counties
• a start-up plan and forecast written for a lender