The first ERDF 2014-2020 Grant Schemes in support of business enhancement have been announced and are soon to be open for applications through a number of competitive calls.
The Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, through the Parliamentary Secretariat for the EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds, has just launched the Business Enhance ERDF Grant Schemes Initiative. With a budget of €51 million from the European Regional Development Fund 2014 -2020, of which 40.8 million euro are being made available from European Union funds and 10.2 million euro from national funds, this initiative seeks to support enterprises through a number of aid schemes in the form of non-repayable grants.
These Grant Schemes address a number of priorities under Operational Programme I Cohesion Policy 2014 – 2020 ‘Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our challenges’ and fall under three main priority axis:
- Priority Axis 1: Investing in research, technological development and innovation
- Priority Axis 2: Consolidating Investment within the ICT sector
- Priority Axis 3: Enhancing Malta’s competitiveness through investment in SMEs
The Business Enhance ERDF Grant Schemes initiative will assist enterprises across the board to maximise their investment and growth potential, to create further employment opportunities and render them more competitive.
This initiative foresees a total of 20 million euro aimed at assisting enterprises in investing in research, technological development and innovation; 26 million euro in support to enterprises undertaking investment projects aimed at rendering them more competitive, and 5 million euro for investment in e-Commerce.
The first phase of this initiative shall focus on assisting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, by making available 31 million euro through a number of schemes specifically targeted to support SMEs in operating in different sectors of the economy, ranging from Manufacturing to Tourism, including self-employed and family businesses.
First calls for project proposals under specific grant schemes will be published in the coming days, with the first earmarked being for the:
For further details, please contact Anamaria Magri Pantea on anamaria@ascendconsulting.eu or +356 99975380.