Introduction

The aim of the Action is to support businesses in the region operating in sectors of the Smart Specialization Strategy (RIS3), such as industry, tourism, agri-food, health, circular economy, transportation, energy, and digital technologies. These businesses must derive the majority of their revenue from one of these sectors, and the Action will assist them in developing new innovative ideas or improving their products and services. The goal is to make the participating businesses more competitive, increase their extroversion, and improve their position in the Greek and international markets. The total public funding for these investments amounts to 30.000.000€.

Eligible Businesses & Participation Requirements

Eligible beneficiaries for the funding of this call are existing small, very small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that meet the following criteria:

• They must have at least two (2) full closed fiscal years before the date of electronic submission of the funding application
• They must be substantially active in sectors of the RIS3 strategy, meaning that during the calendar year preceding the publication of the Call, their main NACE code or the NACE code with the highest revenue must be one of those listed in Annex 1: Eligible Activity Sectors (NACE codes)
• The project must involve (investment NACE code) at least one of the eligible NACE codes from Annex 1: Eligible Activity Sectors (NACE codes). It is clarified that the business is not required to have the investment NACE code at the time of submitting the funding application, but must possess it before the first disbursement

Type and Amount of Funding

The grants available to businesses vary depending on the type of funding regime they choose.

• From 50.000€ to 600.000€ under Regulation (EU) 2831/2023 (De Minimis)
• From 300.000€ to 1.000.000€ under Regulation (EU) 651/2014 (G.B.E.R)

Public funding covers 50% of the subsidized budget for each project.

The subsidized project budget cannot exceed the highest turnover achieved in one of the closed fiscal years before the call publication date (2022 or 2023), increased by 40%.

Implementation Duration

The eligibility deadline for expenses is the final date for completing the project, which is twenty-four (24) months from the date of issuance of the Approval Decision for Evaluation Results. If the deadline falls on a non-working day, it will be extended to the first next working day.

Eligible Expenses

The eligible expenses for both funding regimes (de minimis and G.B.E.R.) include the following categories:

Investment Expenses

These relate to the acquisition of intangible (such as software, intellectual property rights) and tangible (such as equipment, buildings, machinery) fixed assets. These expenses must meet the following conditions:

• They must be used exclusively in the business
• They must be depreciable
• They must be purchased from third parties (only applicable for the G.B.E.R. regime)
• They must remain linked to the project for at least three years from their completion

Consulting and Support Services Expenses

These relate to services offered to the business to support the development of new products, services, or improving its productivity.

Participation in Exhibitions

These expenses relate to participating in exhibitions that can enhance the business’s extroversion and visibility.

The expenses requested for funding must fall into one of these categories and be linked to the proposed project. When submitting the funding application, beneficiaries must choose the funding regime, which can either be Regulation (EU) 651/2014 (G.B.E.R) or Regulation (EU) 2831/2023 (de minimis). The choice of the funding regime is mandatory at the time of the application and cannot be changed later.

Attention

The eligibility start date for expenses is:

• The publication date of the call, if the application is submitted under the regime of EU Regulation 2831/2023 (De minimis).
• The date of electronic submission of the application, if submitted under the regime of EU Regulation 651/2013 (G.B.E.R.).

If the beneficiary has made expenses before the eligibility start date:

• Under the De minimis regime, the expense is rejected.
• Under the G.B.E.R. regime, the investment plan is not financed.

Evaluative Criteria for Scoring

To be considered eligible, a funding application must:

• Achieve a total score of more than 50 points.
• Not receive 0 points in Criterion 1, “securing private participation in the project.”
• Achieve a score of more than 10 points in Criterion 4, “completeness, thoroughness, and sustainability of the project.”

The action is implemented at all stages through the Integrated Information System for State Aid (iSAMIS), which provides access to the beneficiaries of the aid through the website (https://opske.gr/en). Beneficiaries must submit all requests to the Managing Authority P-AMTH/ESF (e.g., submission requests, appeals, inspection requests, modification requests, etc.) through this system. The final submitted funding applications, as evidenced by the date/time of electronic submission (finalization) in iSAMIS, are evaluated comparably.

Start of application submission: 10-02-2025, 13:00

End of application submission: 10-04-2025, 15:00

For further details on this specific program, other available funding opportunities, or any support related to the planning and implementation of your investment projects, please do not hesitate to contact us at 231 0 552000 or 210 9580000, or via email at [email protected].