The call for the action “Strengthening entrepreneurship in the priority sectors of the South Aegean Region” of the “South Aegean” 2021-2027 Program has been announced. This action falls under Priority 1 “Enhancing competitiveness and productive potential” of Policy Objective 1 “A more competitive and smarter Europe by promoting innovative and smart economic transformation, as well as regional digital connectivity” and Specific Objective 1iii “Enhancing the sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs and creating jobs in SMEs, including productive investments,” co-financed by the ERDF.
This action aims to strengthen entrepreneurial initiatives in the specialization areas of the regional dimension of the National Smart Specialization Strategy 2021-2027, as prioritized through the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process. It may concern the support of investment plans aimed at developing differentiated products and services in the RIS3 sectors, upgrading and modernizing productive infrastructures and processes (technological and non-technological), as well as enhancing the extroversion of businesses in the comparative advantage and specialization sectors of the South Aegean Region, including actions for the sustainable blue economy.
Beneficiaries of the action are existing very small, small, and medium-sized enterprises that legally operate and are active in the South Aegean Region, in order to proceed with the development of new, innovative, or improved products and services of high added value, thereby increasing competitiveness and improving the position of businesses in the South Aegean Region in the domestic and international market.
Existing enterprises are considered to be those that have at least two (2) complete closed financial years (n-1, n-2) prior to the date of electronic submission of the funding application.
A complete closed financial year refers to the year for which the final financial result has been accounted for and the relevant tax forms (e.g., E3 & N forms) have been submitted to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), and which has a duration of 12 months.
Each investment plan, to be eligible, must be demonstrably linked to a Regional Outcome of the priority sectors of the National Smart Specialization Strategy (RIS3), which are:
- Experience tourism (tourism, culture, creative industry)
- Agri-food,
- III. Fisheries & Aquaculture
- Renewable Energy Sources (RES)
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), clean "green technologies," and human resources horizontally cut across all sectors.
The basic participation requirements for potential beneficiaries, among others, are the following:
- prior to the date of electronic submission of the funding application, they must have at least two (2) complete closed financial years for the years preceding the date of publication of the Call,
- they are substantially active in RIS3 strategy sectors, i.e., they have, in the calendar year preceding the date of publication of the Call, a main NACE code or NACE code with the largest revenues included in Annex XI: Eligible activity sectors (NACE codes).
- the action (proposed investment) must concern (investment NACE code) at least one of the eligible NACE codes included in the relevant annex of the call.
The total Public Expenditure of the Action amounts to €5,000,000 with a potential over-commitment of 200% and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union and by National Contribution.
The subsidized budget for each investment plan ranges from €30,000 to €400,000.
The public expenditure for all investment plans amounts to 60% of the subsidized budget, while the remaining amount is covered by private participation.
The maximum duration for the completion of the investment plan cannot exceed twenty-four (24) months from the date of approval of the funding application.
- Personnel expenses
- Equipment, Transport Means & Tools expenses
- Expenses for Buildings, Land, Facilities & Surrounding Area
- Expenses for Service Provision
- Software Expenses
- Promotion, Marketing & Networking Expenses
- Indirect Expenses (7% of eligible direct expenses of the investment plan)
|
The start date for funding applications is set for 2026-08-28 at 13:00, while the closing date is 2026-10-30 at 15:00. |
The methodology to be applied for the evaluation of the action is Comparative Evaluation.
To learn about the intensity, aid amounts, eligible expenses, and for any other information, do not hesitate to contact us, so that an experienced associate can guide you according to your needs.
