Securing funding

Projects aimed at stimulating innovative business investment, promoting a shift in the specialization profile of the Portuguese economy and enhancing its external competitiveness through differentiation, diversification, and innovation.
Eligible for support are operations that contribute to improving SMEs’ productive capacities and to the development of innovative, digital, and sustainable solutions, particularly those based on R&D outcomes and the creation of qualified employment.
Supported operations should target the production of new goods and services or significant improvements in existing production, through the transfer and application of knowledge. Alternatively, or complementarily, operations may also aim at the adoption of new or significantly improved manufacturing processes or methods in logistics and distribution, organisation, or marketing.

Eligible actions:

Eligible for support are innovative operations that result in the production of tradable and internationally marketable goods and services, with high added value and a significant level of national content.

The following types of action are eligible for funding:

1 – The creation of a new establishment;

2 – An increase in the capacity of an existing establishment, which must correspond to at least 20% of the installed capacity in relation to the pre-project year;

3. The diversification of an establishment’s production into products not previously produced in the establishment;

4. A fundamental change to the overall production process of an existing establishment.

Eligible Expenses:

1. Tangible assets: i) acquisition of machinery and equipment (costs directly attributable to bringing them to the location and condition necessary for their proper functioning); ii) acquisition of IT equipment (including the software required for its operation);

2. Intangible assets: i) technology transfer through the acquisition of patent rights, both national and international; ii) licenses and know-how not protected by patent; iii) standard software or software specifically developed for a particular purpose;

3. Other investment expenses, including costs related to the involvement of Chartered Accountants or Statutory Auditors; engineering services; studies, diagnostics, and audits; studies or reports supporting the alignment of the operation with the “Do No Significant Harm” principle, as defined in Article 8 of the Specific Regulation for the Innovation and Digital Transition Thematic Area; marketing plans; architectural and engineering design projects and services.

Financing rate:

With a maximum limit of 40%, based on the following calculation reference:

a) Base Rate:
– up to 30 p.p. for micro and small companies
– up to 25 p.p. for medium-sized companies

b) Increases:

i) Sectoral or territorial policy priorities: 5 percentage points for the fulfilment of each of the following priorities, up to a maximum of 10 percentage points;

• “Dynamic collective bargaining” – operations carried out by entities with dynamic collective bargaining practices, defined as the signing or renewal of a Collective Labour Regulation Instrument within the last three years;
• “Industry 4.0” – operations within the scope of Industry 4.0, where digital transformation enables disruptive changes in business models, products, and production processes;
• “Climate Transition” – operations in areas that make a significant contribution to the objectives of the Climate Transition;

ii) ‘SME capitalisation’: 5 p.p. to be allocated to projects whose private component is mainly financed by equity, namely share capital, incorporation of shareholder loans and supplementary capital contributions.

Costs for the construction of buildings, remodelling works and other constructions may not exceed the following limits:

• For operations located in the North, Centre, Lisbon and Alentejo regions:
  • 70% of eligible expenditure in the case of operations in the industry and tourism sector;
  • 90% of eligible expenditure, in the case of operations in the industry sector and which contribute to the development of innovative solutions based on R&D results and the integration and convergence of new technologies and knowledge.

Without prejudice to the aforementioned ceiling – 40% – the maximum incentive rate is limited by the region of the investment and the size of the company.

Below are the characteristics by region: