The Official Gazette of Romania  has released the SME grant scheme, which falls under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), offering EUR 500,000-3 million to non-IT companies in partnership with IT companies for digitization projects.

The scheme, known as "Grants to support entrepreneurs in the development of advanced digital technologies," aims to assist SMEs in implementing innovative digital technologies such as data and cloud computing, blockchain, high performance and quantum computing, the internet of things, and cyber security.

The PNRR aid scheme in Romania, with a total budget of EUR 150 million, will fund collaborations between non-IT and IT SMEs. The aim is to improve competitiveness, stimulate innovation, and facilitate the adoption of new work methods. Of the total budget, EUR 105 million will be allocated for regional investment aid, EUR 25 million for research and development aid, and EUR 20 million for de minimis aid. Non-repayable funds, ranging from EUR 500,000 to 3 million per project, will be provided in the form of state aid and de minimis aid.

The amount of funding received by a joint project (lead and partner) will depend on the category of the lead company, regardless of the SME category of the partner. This is determined as follows:

a) micro-enterprises - EUR 500,000-700,000,

b) small businesses - EUR 500,000-1,500,000,

c) medium enterprises - EUR 500,000-3,000,000.

 The maximum amount of de minimis aid allowed per project is 300,000 lei, with a maximum intensity of 90% of eligible expenses. The beneficiaries are responsible for contributing 10% of the de minimis aid as their own co-financing. For regional aid, the intensity of support ranges from 30-70%, depending on the location of the project and the size of the non-IT SME (lead company). In the research and development aid component, the support intensity varies for different types of projects: 50% for industrial research, 25% for experimental development, and 50% for feasibility studies.

The aid scheme will be included in the Applicant's Guide, published by MIPE along with other annexes. The final guide, to be published by MIPE, will also announce the deadline for submitting projects through the PNRR electronic system. The main challenge of this funding is to effectively establish partnerships between non-IT SMEs (lead companies) in need of digitization and IT SMEs that offer solutions.

If you need help with your application mail frjacobs@telenet.be