The Action “Strengthening the Establishment and Operation of New SMEs” of the ‘Competitiveness’ Programme has been pre-published; it concerns support for entrepreneurship through the establishment of new micro-, small and medium enterprises in specific Activity Code Numbers spanning all sectors of the economy, except for restaurants, retail and tourism.
Budget: €190,000,000
The Action is co-funded by the EU European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and national funds.
Eligible Enterprises
Enterprises eligible to submit a proposal for the Action include under-establishment and newly established small and micro-enterprises, as these are defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC.
The term ‘newly established’ signifies enterprises that have not exceeded a 12-month period of continuous operation as of the date of announcement of the action.
The selected eligible Activity Code Numbers (ACN) shall be defined in the Detailed Invitation of the Action. These numbers will not include those associated with support for enterprises in the Restaurant Sector, Retail, and Tourism.
Investment Plans and Funding Rates
Each investment plan may receive from €40,000 to €400,000 in funding.
The overall funding will amount to 45% of submitted expenses.
The percentage of the funding may be increased by (a) 10% if the investment is made in a remote or fire-prone or earthquake-prone or flood-prone area or small islands; or (b) an additional 5% with the employment of at least 1 ALU (Annual Labour Unit), in the first year after the completion of the investment.
The maximum duration of completion of the physical and financial object of the investment plan cannot under any circumstances exceed twenty-four (24) months.
Submission and Evaluation of Applications for Funding
Applications for funding are submitted through the Integrated State Aid Management Information System (iSAMIS). No printed supporting documents shall be submitted. The deadline and submission process, required supporting documents, obligations of the beneficiaries as well as the other terms of implementation will be described in detail in the Detailed Invitation of the Action.
The Action will be evaluated through Benchmarking.
To see the pre-publication of the Action, click here
