The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Mishustin, approved a government decree that gives accredited IT firms access to preferential loans with interest rates as low as 3 percent per year. The changes were reported by the daily Kommersant, which cited the new document as the basis for the decision. The measure targets digital transformation projects that rely on Russian-developed solutions and technologies, with loan subsidies designed to lower the cost of capital for eligible companies.
Loans can reach up to 10 billion rubles and will be subsidized to a rate range of 1 to 5 percent annually for accredited IT enterprises, with the ultimate cap not exceeding 3 percent. The intent is to accelerate modernization across the sector while ensuring that the financing remains affordable for domestic tech players. In practical terms, these subsidies are meant to reduce the burden of interest while enabling more aggressive investment in product development, cloud adoption, cybersecurity upgrades, and other modernization initiatives. In addition, the policy paves the way for reimbursements of prior expenses and the possibility of awarding bonuses to employees, thereby supporting the overall compensation framework within IT firms as they scale. [Citation: Kommersant]
Data from the Ministry of Digital Development indicates that the current registry includes about 22,300 organizations designated as accredited IT companies. However, a substantial portion of these entities does not yet benefit from the subsidies, highlighting gaps in eligibility, awareness, or administrative reach that the government aims to close with the new decree. This context suggests a broad potential impact, extending beyond a narrow group of large players to include smaller developers and startups seeking to modernize their operations on domestic technology stacks. [Citation: Ministry of Digital Development]
Industry observers, including Anna Reizner, who chairs the Domestic Soft IT Sector Financing Committee, welcomed the move and suggested that the pool of eligible participants could grow significantly. She noted that platforms and marketplaces operating within the sector will likely be able to qualify for the benefits, which would extend the advantages to a wider range of participants involved in digital trade, software marketplaces, and ancillary services related to IT deployment. The broader implication is a more dynamic ecosystem where financing supports not just product development but also the infrastructure that enables scale across digital markets. [Citation: Domestic Soft]
In summary, the government is anchoring a policy shift that aligns credit conditions with a push for domestic technology growth. By offering subsidized funding and potential reimbursement pathways, the decree seeks to lower entry barriers and sustain longer product lifecycles for Russian IT enterprises. The overall goal is to strengthen the domestic software and services sector while empowering companies to invest more confidently in people, processes, and platforms that underpin digital transformation across the economy. [Citation: Kommersant]