The Canaries will help pay your loan interest: a 2026 subsidy for the self-employed and small firms

Being self-employed on the Canaries often means the same thing: small operations, thin reserves and a bank balance that feels every euro of interest. That is exactly where a new grant from the Gobierno de Canarias comes in. If you take out a loan in 2026 to invest in your business, you no longer have to shoulder the interest alone — the regional government will cover part of it. In practice that is around two percentage points of the interest rate, and anyone under 45 is credited 2.5 points.

For newcomers this matters more than it might sound. Plenty of expats and digital nomads who have stayed on the islands have registered as an autónomo — as a tradesperson, consultant, café owner or online freelancer. The same rule applies to them as to local self-employed people: invest, take out a guaranteed loan for it, and you can claim part of the interest back from the state. The condition is manageable, the deadline less so — everything runs until 30 October 2026.

What is an SGR — and why Avalcanarias?

The key piece is called Avalcanarias. It is a sociedad de garantía recíproca (SGR), a mutual guarantee society — a non-profit that stands as guarantor for the self-employed and small firms when they go to the bank. In plain terms: it co-signs the risk so you can get a loan that a bank might not grant you, or would only grant on worse terms, if you had no collateral of your own.

The interest subsidy is tied to exactly that guarantee: only loans backed by Avalcanarias qualify. That design is deliberate — the guarantee makes the financing accessible in the first place, and the subsidy then makes it cheaper. So if you are weighing up an investment loan, the smart first move is to talk to Avalcanarias about the aval, and ask them there how the subsidy application fits alongside it.

Two percentage points — what is that in real money?

“Two percentage points of interest subsidy” sounds abstract, but it makes a real difference. A rough worked example: on a 30,000 € investment loan, one percentage point is roughly 300 € of interest a year — so two points is around 600 €, and the 2.5 points for under-45s closer to 750 €. Over a loan lasting several years that adds up to a meaningful sum. Exactly how much you end up saving depends on the loan amount, the term and the specific conditions — the figures here are only a guide, not a promise.

The purpose matters: the grant is for loans that fund investment — fixed assets such as fitting out your premises, machinery, equipment, software or similar business purchases. Pure consumer credit or personal loans are expressly excluded.

Who can apply — and for which loans?

The help is aimed at the self-employed in the Canaries: people registered under RETA (the special self-employed social-security regime) or a comparable regime, as well as members of the relevant mutual. That means the classic autónomos — from one-person operations to small firms. Avalcanarias also works with small and medium businesses (pymes) more broadly; which legal form qualifies in any given case is set out bindingly in the official terms.

On the loan itself: it must have been signed on or after 1 January 2026 — so the help reaches back to loans taken out earlier this year. If you already took out a guaranteed investment loan in early 2026, you are not shut out. Loans signed before 1 January 2026, on the other hand, are expressly excluded.

How to apply: deadlines and steps

The application is made only online, through the sede electrónica of the Gobierno de Canarias — the relevant procedure carries registration number 10934. You will need a digital ID (certificado digital or Cl@ve) to sign in to the portal. The application window opened on 10 July 2026 and runs until 30 October 2026.

One thing to keep in mind: the money is limited — the total budget is around 600,000 € — and applications are handled on a first-come, first-served basis until the pot is empty. If you seriously want the grant, do not wait until the last minute. It goes fastest when the aval, the loan contract and your documents are already in hand before you submit.