In 2021, the transition to the new European Union funding period will take place and the preparation of measures have already begun for the period 2021-2027. Here is an overview of current open support opportunities and various measures, which will open in 2021. The funding keywords are product development, digitization, smart specialization and green technologies.
OPEN FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES
The enterprise development programme is aimed at entrepreneurs who have a clear ambition and potential to grow and who want to bring new or significantly improved products or services to the market.
The program is open to an industrial company or a company contributing to the goals of smart specialization, which has been operating at least for 3 years and has 8 or more employees.
Support will be provided for the following activities of the development plan:
• outsourcing the training required for developing and bringing to the market a high value-added product or service in the course of the company’s staff development activities;
• conducting organizational and process development activities;
• conducting the development of the company’s product or service;
• developing and conducting sales and marketing activities of the company’s new and high value-added product or service;
• the purchase of machinery, equipment and the intangible assets necessary for their use related to the production of a new and high value-added product or the provision of a new and high value-added service.
The support rate is 25-45%, depending on the size of the applicant. The grant is awarded up to € 500 000 per applicant. The information of the enterprise development programme is available on the website of Enterprise Estonia.
Digitization roadmap support
The purpose of the grant is to support the creation of a digitalization roadmap. By creating a roadmap, the company’s awareness of the current state of its digitalization increases. Furthermore, the aim is to increase the added value of its products and services through remedial action.
The supported digitalization roadmap must include the following activities:
• an overview of the company’s business model, supply chain and production or service delivery process;
• an assessment of which bottlenecks in the supply chain and the production or service process can be addressed through digital technologies;
• an assessment of the payback period and the impact of the solutions mentioned in clause 2 on the company’s business model and financial results;
• terms of reference for at least one solution.
The maximum amount of support per project is 15 000 €. The support rate is 50-70% depending on the type of aid and the location of the company. Additional information on roadmap support can be found on the website of Enterprise Estonia and in the support regulation.
Cross-sectoral mobility support
Support is provided for a project in the framework of which a person with doctoral researcher degree is employed in an Estonian private and public sector institution. Activities must include the planning and implementation of applied research and product development projects corresponding to the characteristics of research and development.
• The researcher’s labor costs are reimbursed based on a unit price. The unit price per month is 3264 euros.
• The maximum support rate is 70% (depending on the type of project activity) where self-financing is at least 30%.
The project eligibility period must be from 12 October 2020 to 30 June 2023. The project eligibility period is minimum of three months and maximum two years. More information about the support can be found on the website of the State Support Services Center. It is good opportunity to combine the measure with other product development support.
Innovation and development voucher
The innovation voucher allows small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop innovative solutions in collaboration with research institutions, testing laboratories or intellectual property experts.
Solutions must be aimed at overcoming obstacles to development, testing new materials, gathering knowledge about technological feasibility, etc.
Support is available up to € 6 000 and the support rate is 80%.
The development voucher aims to support the competitiveness of SMEs through the development of innovative and higher value-added products, services and technologies. The aim of the grant is to analyze whether the development idea has the potential to continue in the next phases of the development process or not.
Support is available up to € 35 000 and the support rate is 70%
The precondition for applying for a development voucher is the existence of a project plan. Applying for an innovation voucher, it is necessary to develop a suitable project plan with a cooperation partner. More information about the development voucher can be found here and about the innovation voucher here.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IN 2021
GREEN ICT III ROUND
Green ICT is an Estonian-Norwegian cooperation programme. The aim is to support the sustainable development of Estonian entrepreneurs and increase Estonian-Norwegian innovation cooperation and the added value of companies.
In the previous two rounds, projects in the fields of industry and green technologies, ICT and health technologies were supported. The exact terms of the third round will be announced in the autumn before opening the new application round.
• We helped Lumebot, a developer of autonomous street cleaning robots, to raise 630 thousand euros from the Green ICT application round.
• We helped Modern Mobility, a developer of smart transport solutions, and their partner, Bercman Technologies, a developer of smart city solutions, to raise 322 thousand euros for product development.
Product development programme EUROSTARS
It will be possible to apply in the Eurostars measure again in this autumn. Eurostars is an international cooperation measure aimed at enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to carry out transnational product development based on R&D cooperation.
The aim of the measure is to support the innovation development capacity and competitiveness of Estonian small and medium-sized enterprises in foreign markets.
To apply, a company must have at least one partner from a country participating in the Eurostars program. The maximum support in the program is € 300 000, with a support rate of 35-60% (depending on the size of the company and the cooperation between the partners). More information can be found on the website of Enterprise Estonia.
Product development support
The purpose of the grant is to increase companies export earnings from new or substantially modified products and services.
The grant can cover the following costs:
• wages and related statutory taxes and payments;
• costs of tools and equipment according to their useful lifetime in the project;
• outsourcing of research and services necessary for product development;
• acquisition of materials and accessories necessary for product development.
To apply for support, the average sales revenue of the company’s activities in the last two financial years must be at least 200 000 EUR. The maximum support is € 500 000 with a support rate of 45-75%. The conditions of the support are being approved and will be clarified before the opening of the application round. The measure is likely to open in May 2021.
Applied research programme
The purpose of the applied research programme is to support Estonian companies’ investments in research and development activities. As a result of programme, businesses increase revenue from new or significantly changed technologies, processes, products, or services.
The programme supports the implementation of applied research and product development projects. One of the biggest changes compared to previous programs is that in addition to research and development organizations, companies can also be project partners when outsourcing research and development services, and cooperation partners can also be from abroad.
The amount of support for applied research per project is between 20 000 and 3 000 000 EUR. Today, support for applied research programme has closed, but it is very likely that new resources will be channeled to the programme. It is therefore wise to start drawing up a project plan for applied research today.
2021-2027 funding period in Estonia
In March, the Government of Estonia approved the activities supported by EU funds. The main emphasis is on recovering from the COVID-19 crisis, achieving climate goals and diversifying business.
The four main funds from which Estonia receives funding are: React-EU, the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility, the EU Cohesion Policy and the Just Transition Fund.
React-EU calls are expected to open in May, and other funds are expected to open at the end of the year.
Attend a free consultation
Haap Consulting helps to map Your company’s various opportunities to raise money in the new funding period of the European Union.
If you are interested, do not hesitate to write info@haap.ee or call 51966196.
