Stock zone: how the Russian Federation helps the development of production

The Federal Fund for Industrial Development (FFD) has provided financial support to 2,080 industrial projects in 79 regions of Russia, said Roman Petrutsa, director of the FFD. The total amount of concessional financing has already exceeded 700 billion rubles. Izvestia investigated whether the structure of demand for loans has changed in recent years, taking into account sanctions and industrial policy restructuring, as well as what tasks the authorities set for themselves in the coming years and whether they plan to expand support programs or financing.

Cheap money

Over 11 years of operation, the FRP has supported more than 2,080 industrial initiatives worth over 700 billion rubles, the fund confirmed to Izvestia. FRP has collaborated with more than 1,500 unique companies, providing assistance in the development of production. As a result of the attracted resources, 1125 projects managed to either launch new lines or increase the output of the declared products.

"The long and cheap FRP money allows enterprises to implement projects for the production of high—tech, import—substituting, competitive, and most importantly, products necessary for the development of the country's economy and improving the quality of life of its citizens," the fund noted.

Concessional financing from the Industrial Development Fund has become an incentive to launch new production lines in the country for scarce and strategically important products, from computing equipment and pharmaceuticals to components for the automotive industry, railway industry and machine tool industry.

"The two thousandth FRP project has become significant: Ural Locomotives has developed modern freight electric locomotives, having received a loan of one billion rubles at 3% per annum with a total project cost of about two billion," the FRP noted.

The most sought-after mechanism of the Industrial Development Fund throughout almost all of its activities remains the Development Projects program, which leads in the number of supported initiatives, losing the lead only in 2020 due to the reorientation to anti-crisis measures during the pandemic.

This program is universal in nature. It covers hundreds of loans and is suitable for companies of various industries and scales, helping them to bring new products to the market, modernize facilities and implement modern technological and digital solutions. At the same time, the FRP's client base includes both large industrial structures and small businesses with individual entrepreneurs, but priority is always given to medium-sized manufacturing companies that combine their accumulated experience and resources with high adaptability to changes in the market environment.

Support Focus

Investment projects in industry require significant financial and time resources, which is why companies have often postponed their launch in recent years, Alexander Isaevich, CEO of SME Corporation, explained to Izvestia. Nevertheless, it is precisely such initiatives that are an important condition for technological sovereignty, while small and medium-sized businesses are increasingly taking their place in the industry, developing new materials, intelligent solutions, robotic systems and domestic equipment.

— It was industrial small and medium—sized companies that became one of the leaders in the transition from the SME segment to large business in 2025 - industry accounted for almost 20% of accelerated SMEs. That is, such enterprises have a good scientific and technological foundation, but, as a rule, their own funds are not sufficient to launch full-fledged mass production. They need financial leverage, and often it's not just about borrowed funds," he said.

The SME Corporation has an Investment Lending Support Center that accompanies projects and provides loan guarantees, including FRP financing, allowing businesses to receive assistance from several development institutions at once. In addition, preferential programs for industrial SMEs will continue from 2026: by 2030, small technology companies and enterprises in priority industries will be able to attract about 180 billion rubles.

After 2022, the structure of Federal Reserve loans has noticeably shifted towards projects on import substitution, technological sovereignty and support for priority industries, Ivan Abramov, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, told Izvestia. At the same time, the number of applications is steadily growing, including due to the high key interest rate and the desire of businesses to attract more affordable financing.

— The foundation plans to expand its activities in the coming years. Additional capitalization of 75.2 billion rubles is planned over a three—year period, which will support new projects, and regional funds offering attractive conditions for industrial development remain an additional source of financing," the senator said.

The demand for FRP loans has become more balanced and pragmatic in recent years, due to sanctions pressure, changes in foreign economic conditions and the situation on the domestic credit market, Andrei Zhukovsky, associate professor at the Department of Strategic and Innovative Development at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia.

"This is especially noticeable among enterprises with low margins and long—term capital turnover, which have become more cautious in their investment decisions," he said. — This approach allows businesses to adapt faster to new conditions and build more sustainable development models in the medium term.

In his opinion, in the coming years, government policy is focused on increasing the targeting of financial support. Priority is given to enterprises in high-tech industries, companies engaged in import substitution, as well as projects with high added value and export potential. In 2025, the Federal Reserve Fund financed more than 200 new projects worth about 100 billion rubles and continued to support 123 previously launched initiatives, which was previously noted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Financing is focused on import substitution, labor productivity growth, digitalization, modernization and creation of production facilities, production of components, diversification of the defense industry and equipment leasing, the expert explained. The loan amounts range from 5 million to 2 billion rubles, depending on the program, at rates of about 3-5% per annum and maturities of up to 7 years, which remains an essential tool to support the development of the domestic industry.

In recent years, the structure of lending has shifted towards import substitution and priority industries, primarily high-tech, Maxim Chirkov, associate professor of the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements at the State University of Management (GUU), told Izvestia. Although it is incorrect to talk about a radical change in demand, it is more likely that there are clear government accents. Increasingly, companies operating in complex import substitution segments are supported, where large resources and long-term investments are required, which coincides with the government's objectives to form a technological economy.

"In the future, priority will be given to such projects, since they provide higher growth in added value and make a greater contribution to the increase in gross product," the expert confirmed.

Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, but no response had been received at the time of publication.