SOUTH-WEST OLTENIA REGIONAL PROGRAMME
2021-2027
IMPROVING COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION IN SMEs
CALL FOR PROJECTS: PR SV/IMM1/1/1.3-1.4/2023
Consultative guide – 20.03.2023
Objectives
To enhance sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs and to create jobs in SMEs, including through productive investments (ERDF)
Skills development for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship (ERDF)
Call
Competitive with deadline submission
Allocated budget
79.468.235 euro
Eligible beneficiaries
The applicant is a company or cooperative society falling into the SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) category, with registered office in the South-West Oltenia region in urban/rural areas no later than 1 January 2022
Not eligible:
Micro and large enterprises
Enterprises that do not have their registered office in the South-West Oltenia region or that implement the investment outside the South-West Oltenia development region are not eligible
Non-reimbursable financial aid
The amount of grant requested is a minimum of EUR 200,000 and a maximum of EUR 1,500,000, equivalent in RON at the Infoeuro exchange rate valid on the date of the call for projects (publication of the specific guidelines)
Percentage of funding
Depending on the category of enterprise, the maximum contribution of the programme to eligible expenditure eligible for regional aid
- Medium-sized enterprises – 70%
- Small enterprises – 75%
Under this call, certain expenditure is eligible for de minimis aid up to a maximum of 90% of the eligible amount of expenditure eligible for de minimis aid, subject to compliance with the de minimis ceiling, i.e. the equivalent in lei of 200,000 euro. The eligible value of the component eligible for de minimis aid may not exceed 20% of the total eligible value of the investment
Minimum eligibility conditions
- The applicant has been active for at least one full fiscal year prior to the submission of the grant application
- The applicant has made an operating profit in the tax year preceding the submission of the grant application
- The applicant is not a firm in difficulty/bankrupt
- The applicant has the financial capacity to ensure its own contribution to the eligible amount of the project and to finance the ineligible expenses of the project
Type of investment:
- Regional State aid is granted for an initial investment (setting up a new establishment or expanding the capacity of an existing establishment, diversifying the production of an establishment)
- Construction, extension, modernisation of production/service facilities
- Equipment with technological equipment, machinery, working facilities, furniture, computer equipment, office equipment
- Activities specific to the internationalization process and access to international markets
- Implementation and certification of quality, environmental or health management systems, organizational management
- Purchase of specific installations/equipment with the aim of achieving energy savings, as well as systems using renewable (alternative) energy sources to make the activities for which funding is requested more efficient, up to a maximum of 15% of the eligible project value
- Investments in intangible assets: patents, licences, trademarks, software, other rights and similar assets, up to 10% of the eligible project value and up to 20% of the value of tangible assets
Other relevant information
The head office will be maintained for the sustainability period of the investment, i.e. 3 years from the final payment under the financing contract.
Additional points will be awarded to projects that:
- present a ratio as high as possible between the turnover recorded at the end of the year preceding the submission of the grant application and the amount of non-reimbursable financial assistance requested
- propose actions related to business modelling as well as knowledge of third country markets and adaptation of products/services for specific markets
- provide for actions for the development of professional skills in the adoption of advanced technologies in the areas of regional smart specialization, industrial transition and entrepreneurship, which are linked to the investment component.
It is mandatory to purchase specific installations/equipment in order to achieve energy savings of at least 5% of the eligible project value. Projects which only include investments in this category are not eligible.
When submitting the project, the applicant must provide proof of financial capacity (bank statement, proof of a credit line/contract issued by a bank/bank financial institution).
