Take advantage of stimulus grants today
Now that many small businesses are looking to expand and grow as their economies begin to unlock, a range of stimulus measures have been rolled out, or are being planned, by governments around the world. Many of these grants are designed to create new opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses, including individual entrepreneurs.
If you would like to find out how Cisco Designed Technology can support your business click here or contact a Cisco Small Business Technology Expert.
A key focus of grant money being made available now is for digital transformation that drives business efficiency and helps to reduce environmental impacts. So it could be a good opportunity to invest in technology that assists you with training, boosts your online presence or allows your growing team to work more productively together. Let’s take a look at some of the schemes:
If you need help navigating the multiple grants and stimulus technology packages on offer, we’re here to assist you. In partnership with the Grants Office, we’re on hand to guide you through the entire process, ensuring you find the right package for you and your business.
Business Competitiveness Programme Supporting Victorian business to invest in new manufacturing capability. With a second round of funding open in August-September 2021, the Business Competitive Programme aims to assist small and medium sized businesses based in Victoria that are on a growth trajectory and require support to expand their manufacturing operations. Grants of up to 33% of eligible project expenditure, up to a maximum grant amount of $500,000, will be allocated on a competitive basis for projects to be completed within 18 months of receiving the grant. Find out more here.
Grand Est Competitiveness Scheme Productive investment and support for business transformation.
For companies situated in the Grand Est region, this scheme aims to accelerate business transformation by assisting those wishing to transform their production model in its entirety and/or modernizing within the framework of an industry 4.0 approach.
Applications are considered on a rolling basis, while grants vary in size and scope depending on the business development project. Find out more here.
PM'up Relance call for projects Supporting job creation, modernization and business transformation in Île-de-France.
For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and intermediate-sized enterprises (ISEs) based in, or relocating to, the Île-de-France region, the PM'up Relance scheme provides support in relaunching their activities, strategic repositioning and growth projects. The PM'up scheme has a typical funding ceiling of €250,000, however that may be increased to €500,000 for projects with a strong impact on the creation or safeguarding of jobs in the region. Find out more here.
E-merge – Intertrade Ireland Fully funded e-Commerce consultancy support.
The E-Merge programme provides £2500/€2800 of consultancy support to help businesses develop online sales and eCommerce solutions. Targeted towards SMEs registered in Ireland or Northern Ireland, with less than 250 staff and £40Million turnover, support is provided in a range of areas including e-marketing and social media promotion, website management, SEO optimization and legal/insurance implications.
To apply, find the eligibility checker and application form here.
The Green Offer (including Green for Micro) – Enterprise Ireland/LEOs Preparing business for the economy of the future. The aim of the Green Offer is to help prepare companies for the low carbon, more resource efficient economy of the future by incorporating sustainable practices into the day-to-day running of their business. Funding covers the costs of hiring and working with consultants on ensuring your business is sustainable, with amounts varying by company size and project scale. The Green Offer involves three different levels of support (up to €50,000), each characterized by increasing levels of capability in implementing environmental best practice. More details can be found here.
MentorsWork – Skillnet Ireland together with SFA Structured mentoring support for the post-Covid business world. The MentorsWork programme is designed to provide the skills and support to help your business thrive. You can choose the priority areas for your business and receive a tailored program to suit. From an in-depth online competency assessment, to workshops, masterclasses and one-to-one mentoring sessions, the free, structured 12-week programme aims to provide the right skills, tools and processes to develop your company in the post-covid business world. Find out more here.
EIC Accelerator Funding to develop and scale up game-changing innovations. One of the European Innovation Council funding opportunities, the EIC Accelerator scheme supports individual SMEs, in particular startups and spinout companies, to develop and scale up game-changing innovations. Open to innovators in all EU Member States and Horizon Europe countries, substantial financial support is available in the form of grant funding of up to €2.5 million for innovation development costs, and direct equity investments of up to €15 million for scale up and other relevant costs. In addition, selected companies receive coaching, mentoring, access to investors and corporates, and many other opportunities as part of the EIC community. Find out more here.
REACT Amsterdam
This scheme aims to support SMEs implementing projects that focus on integrated area-oriented urban development and a combination of digitalization and labor market activities jointly initiated by companies, schools and governments. A maximum contribution from the Kansen voor West program of €1,500,000 per application applies, representing a maximum of 70% of the eligible costs. Find out more here.
Industrial cybersecurity Supporting smarter ways to protect industry.
The purpose of this program is to advance Industrial Cybersecurity, funding projects that address the convergence and integration of cyber-attack protection systems in industrial companies and related services.
Open to industrial companies located in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, the scheme offers grants of up to €18,000 to promote cybersecurity improvements in areas such as protection systems, securing information/data or reducing vulnerability to existing attacks. The deadline for project submission is 15:00 on 26 November 2021, and more information can be found here.
Recovery and Resiliency Facility This facility represents the bulk of Next Generation EU funding between 2021 and 2023. Its major aims are to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and make European member states better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions.€312.5 billion in grants and €360.0 billion in loans will be distributed to member states for projects in areas such as clean technologies and renewables, digitalization of public administration, data cloud capacities and sustainable processors, and education and training to support digital skills.
REACT-EU
This scheme makes €47.5 billion in funding available to member states to spur a green, digital, and resilient recovery of their economies. The focus of this funding will be to:
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
This fund makes €7.5 billion available to support innovation, environment and climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives.
The Commission recommends member states dedicate this funding to:
Just Transition Fund
€10 billion in funding will supplement an existing €7.5 billion dedicated to alleviating social and economic costs that may result from the transition towards a climate-neutral economy. For member states to unlock funding from this scheme, they will need to prepare Territorial Just Transition Plans identifying regions, industries and workers that are expected to be the most negatively impacted by the green transition.
Horizon Europe
The Horizon Europe scheme sees €5.4 billion in funding combined with an existing €90 billion dedicated to research and innovation initiatives through 2027. Most competitive grants are expected to target large, multi-national collaboratives.
To learn more about how Cisco Designed Technology can support your business, please contact a Cisco Small Business Technology Expert.
