“Strengthening the establishment and operation of new small and medium enterprises” is the third consecutive entrepreneurship action of the NSRF 2021-2027, which will open, in the 3rd quarter of 2023, for the submission of applications.In particular, with regard to the third entrepreneurship action, its budget amounts to 300 million euros (resources from the “Competitiveness” program of the new NSRF) and according to officials of the Ministry of Development and Investments: “It is one of the main support tools new business models. It is aimed at all eligible start-up and newly established small and medium enterprises of the country and contributes to the increase of the production capacity of Greece, the enrichment of Greek branding, the development of high-quality activities and the increase of employment”.Key points The key features of the action: “Strengthening the establishment and operation of new small and medium-sized enterprises”, as they will be specified in its forthcoming pre-publication, are the following:The subsidized budget of each investment project ranges from 30,000 to 400,000 euros and results, precisely, based on the company’s branch of activity. In Manufacturing and Tourism the subsidized budget ranges from 30,000 to 400,000 euros, with the grant reaching up to 200,000 euros. For businesses operating either in Trade or in Services, the subsidized budget varies, respectively, from 15,000 to 100,000 euros, with the “ceiling” of the grant being 55,000 euros. Conditions To join the action, medium, small and very small enterprises will be able to submit a proposal under establishment and start-ups without full administrative use. The basic conditions for the participation of the potentially benefiting companies are the following:To make an investment exclusively in one Region. To be active in eligible Activity Codes (KAD), which will be defined in the detailed invitation of the action. To provide accurate details and location data of the place of implementation of the investment on a specific property (field, building or other type of independent space). To provide evidence of the ownership status of the property. To provide a land use certificate for the above place of implementation of the investment. To provide evidence of securing private participation, at a rate of at least 60% of the proposed subsidized budget of the investment project. Work on the investment project has not started before the funding application is submitted. If the investment concerns a tourist accommodation, it must be of a specific capacity and specifications that will be specified in the detailed invitation. As long as the investment concerns tourist furnished residences, there should be at least three of them with the same EOT Mark/MITE Number (Tourist Business Register). To meet the application conditions of Reg. EU 1407/2013 (De Minimis). Funding Payment The grant of interim installments will amount to 40% of the submitted costs. An additional grant rate of up to 15% will be paid upon completion based on the achievement of goals related to the rate of implementation of the investment, as well as new hires of staff with salaried work.The grant that will be paid in the context of the action is not subject to withholding or confiscation in the hands of the State or third parties in derogation of any other general or special provision to the contrary, it is not set off against confirmed debts to the Tax Administration and the State in general, the legal entities under public law , local government organizations and their legal entities, insurance funds and credit institutions and no other special charge or other fee of equivalent effect is collected, which would result in a reduction of the amount due to the beneficiaries.Submission – Evaluation – Integration – Implementation Funding applications will only be submitted electronically, without the presentation of a physical file of supporting documents, through the Integrated Information System for State Aid Management (OPSKE, app.opske.gr). The deadline and method of submission, the required supporting documents, the obligations of the beneficiaries, as well as the other implementation conditions will be described in the detailed invitation. It is worth pointing out that in the context of the action:* no essential change is allowed in terms of the basic physical object and location of the investment* no essential change or differentiation is allowed in terms of persons and participation rates throughout the duration of the project, from the submission of a financing application until the completion and repayment of the investment.* the participation of a Natural/Legal Person as a partner in more than one approved funding application is not permitted.The Ministry of Finance underlines that the evaluation of the applications will be immediate (First Come First Served) and the investment plans will be examined according to the order in which they are submitted until the action’s budget is exhausted. Initially, a check of participation conditions will be carried out, and then the eligible projects will be scored based on criteria, which will be related to:* ensuring private participation by scoring the availability of partners’ funds* the experience of partners/shareholders of the business for the implementation of the investment plan* the location of the investment (investments that will be implemented in hard-to-reach areas are rewarded) the maturity of the investment plan in terms of the required permits for the start of the implementation of the investment plan* the feasibility of the implementation schedule* the relevance of the investment plan to the National Smart Specialization Strategy 2021- 2027.ResubmissionIn case of rejection, the same corporate structure, i.e. the same natural/legal persons regardless of participation percentages, will be entitled to a maximum of one resubmission.
