23 October 2025

Pre-Announcement Information – Action: “Modernization of Small Enterprises in Western Greece 2025”

Introduction
Based on the pre-announcement of the Action “Modernization of Small Enterprises in Western Greece 2025” and pending the official call, the program aims to support very small and small enterprises in the Western Greece Region under the framework of the “Western Greece 2021-2027” Program. The Action falls under Specific Objective 1.3, “Enhancing the sustainable development and competitiveness of SMEs and creating jobs.”

This targeted intervention promotes productive investments, strengthens participation in global value chains, and seeks a substantial restructuring of the local business landscape towards a competitive, resilient, and sustainable development model.

The total budget of the Action amounts to 23.000.000 € (Public Expenditure). The public funding of the program is co-financed by the Greek State and the European Union, specifically through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and is distributed per beneficiary category as follows:

  • 2.000.000 € for Self-Employed Professionals (Scientists and Freelancers)
  • 18.000.000 € for Small Investments
  • 3.000.000 € for Large Investments

Eligible_Enterprises
Existing very small and small enterprises, defined as businesses that:

  • Employ fewer than 50 employees, and
  • Have an annual turnover or total balance sheet not exceeding 10.000.000 €.

“Existing” enterprises are considered those that have completed at least one (1) full financial year prior to the date of electronic submission of the funding application, meaning they have already submitted financial data for a complete fiscal year.

Key Eligibility Criteria

  • Single application per Tax Identification Number (TIN) across all three calls of the broader action “Modernization of Small Enterprises in Western Greece 2025.”
  • Implementation of the investment exclusively within Western Greece.
  • At least one full financial year completed prior to submission.
  • The proposed investment project must relate to at least one eligible NACE code, in which the applicant has substantial activity during the last closed financial year (Primary NACE or NACE with highest revenue).
  • The subsidized budget of the investment plan must not exceed twice the highest turnover achieved in the last closed financial year before the submission date.
  • Legal operation with license or documented exemption.
  • Acceptable Legal Forms: Sole Proprietorship, General Partnership (GP), Limited Partnership (LP), Limited Liability Company (LLC), Public Limited Company (PLC), Private Company (P.C.), Limited Liability Urban Cooperative, Unlimited Liability Urban Cooperative, For-Profit Urban Cooperative, Other Private Law Legal Entity (OPLLE), Social Cooperative Enterprise under Law 4430/2016 (SCE), Social Cooperative of Social Purpose (SCSP).).
  • Accounting books: single-entry or double-entry, in accordance with Law 4308/2014.
  • Must not be in bankruptcy, liquidation, or any other insolvency procedure, and no pending recovery order for EU aid.
  • Compliance with the De Minimis Regulation (maximum 300.000 € over three fiscal years).
  • The investment must not have already been implemented at the time of submission, and expenses must not have been financed or included in other programs.
  • The investment location cannot be the residence of the beneficiary (primary or secondary).
  • Compliance with legislation on health, safety, equality, non-discrimination, and accessibility for persons with disabilities (PwD).

Entities Not Eligible to Apply for Funding:

  • Financial and insurance institutions.
  • Public enterprises, governmental bodies, organizations, and their subsidiaries.
  • Legal Entities of Public Law (LEPL) as well as companies where local government authorities (LGAs) or the aforementioned public bodies directly or indirectly hold more than 25%.
  • Sports clubs, associations, athletic public limited companies, and related entities (parent, subsidiary, or affiliated companies).
  • Offshore companies.
  • Companies that belong to organized distribution networks of products or services (e.g., franchising, agency networks) that exploit intellectual property rights.

Each eligible entity may submit only one funding proposal.

Action Budget

 * ITI (Integrated Territorial Investments) – SUD (Sustainable Urban Development)

Eligible Expenses

Specifically, the eligible expense categories that will be subsidized under this Preliminary Announcement will be defined in the official Program Call. Indicative categories of eligible expenses for the funding period, by beneficiary category, are:

* VAT is not an eligible expense.

Implementation Period

The maximum implementation period for approved projects is set at up to twenty-four (24) months.

The eligibility start date for expenses is the date of submission of the funding application.

Evaluation Criteria

The criteria are differentiated according to the category of beneficiary:

Scientists – Self-Employed Professionals

  1. Financial Performance – Profitability (weight 10%)
    Calculation: Three-year average profit as a percentage of three-year turnover. If >15% → Maximum score: 10 points.
  2. Employment (weight 15%)
    Calculation: Average Annual Work Units (AWU) over the last 3 years.
    Maximum 3 AWU → 10 points, 0 AWU → 0 points.
  3. Need for Support (weight 30%)
    Calculation: Closed fiscal years (years of operation) from 1 to 10.
  4. Investment Sustainability (weight 45%)
    Calculation: Three-year average turnover / investment amount. If average turnover >8,000% of investment → 10 points.

Small Investments (same system as category A) The same criteria, weights, and evaluation methodology as for Scientists/Self-Employed Professionals.

Medium Investments

  1. Financial Performance – Profitability (weight 10%)
    Same methodology as other categories.
  2. Employment (weight 15%)
    Maximum 5 AWU → 10 points, 0 AWU → 0 points.
  3. Need for Support (weight 20%)
    Up to 10 closed fiscal years.
  4. Investment Sustainability (weight 45%)
    Three-year average turnover / investment amount. Maximum score for ratio ≥2,000%.
  5. Innovation – Alignment with RIS3 Strategy (weight 10%)
    If the investment aligns with the regional smart specialization strategy (RIS3) → 10 points, otherwise → 0 points.

Submission and Evaluation of Funding Applications

Funding applications must be submitted exclusively online, without the need to provide a physical file of supporting documents, through the Integrated Information System for State Aid Management (O.P.S.K.E.).

Detailed eligibility conditions, required documentation, the procedure for submitting proposals, the process for examining and evaluating proposals, the evaluation criteria, the obligations of beneficiaries in case of approval, and other terms of the Program will be fully described in the Program Call.

The evaluation of funding applications will be comparative, based on the criteria defined in the Program Call, and will be carried out in three stages. The assessment will include verification of the completeness of the required documentation, eligibility—specifically compliance with formal requirements as defined in the corresponding sections of the detailed call—and, finally, each proposal will be scored according to each evaluation criterion.