Debrecen4U
May 12, 2026
Széchenyi Card Loan Programme Receives Nearly 3,000 Successful Applications from Hajdú-Bihar SMEs This Year
The Széchenyi Card Programme is helping to drive the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, with Debrecen as the most recent stop in its nationwide roadshow that provides an overview of funding opportunities, the economic outlook, and the challenges facing the SME sector. On 11 May, it was stated at the event that improving competitiveness and increasing the proportion of knowledge-intensive export products could become the main priorities in the coming years.
The Széchenyi Card Programme is stable and successful, with 540,000 loan agreements concluded with small and medium-sized enterprises nationwide over the past 24 years. Its popularity is clearly demonstrated by the fact that, in the final quarter of last year, 35 per cent of business loans were provided through these preferential schemes. “Since the spring of this year, nearly 3,000 applications from businesses in Hajdú-Bihar have been approved, with HUF 66 billion disbursed, 50 per cent of which went to the agricultural sector,” said Ferenc Miklóssy, President of the Hajdú-Bihar County Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Following the stagnation of recent years, Hungary may now be entering a period of intense economic growth. Experts forecast a more favourable interest-rate environment in the coming years, which could also be strengthened by Hungary’s planned accession to the eurozone. “We trust that market interest rates will decline. A target date for joining the eurozone has been set. If we look around the eurozone, we see interest rates significantly lower than those in Hungary, and we hope that by the time we get there, it will not be eurozone rates that rise, but Hungarian rates that fall,” said Richárd Végh.
A new global economic environment is emerging, characterised by a process of deglobalisation, said István Madár. The lead analyst of Portfolio Group highlighted as a European challenge the fact that the European Union still lacks the unity of its two major competitors, China and the United States.
“We know how unified China is, but even the federal United States appears from the outside to operate as a unified and relatively efficient state structure. Meanwhile, in the European Union, decisions are still made by actors who primarily — indeed almost exclusively — view European issues through the lens of their own national electorates,” István Madár emphasised.
It was also stated at the event that no significant expansion in employment is expected in the coming years. Improving the competitiveness of the SME sector and increasing the proportion of knowledge-intensive export products remain key objectives.
Source and photo credit: dehir.hu
