The scheme is open to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in economic activity, irrespective of their legal form, subject to exclusions.
Eligible actions include investments in equipment and machinery aimed at directly improving the productivity of the enterprise. This shall be aimed at expanding, diversifying, and/or innovating operations.
This grant scheme will support investment in tangible assets, including:
- Equipment, Plant and Machinery: Costs for the purchasing of the main component of the operation in terms of equipment, plant and machinery required for the operation. The equipment and machinery must be maintained by the beneficiary and remain operational for at least 3 years following the completion of the investment operation;
- Ancillary items: Costs for the purchasing of ancillary items to the main activity of the project, capped at 10% of the eligible cost of the main project component;
- Lease of private operational premises: Costs for leasing of privately owned operational premises required for the operations for the duration of 2 years, capped at 10% of the eligible cost of the main project component; and
- 7% flat rate to finance any indirect costs related to the investment.
Any eligible projects must be implemented within 24 months from the date of the Grant Agreement.
The scheme shall be managed on a demand driven basis through a public open call (rolling-call) with periodical cut-off dates for interested eligible Undertakings to submit their applications. Following each cut-off date, applications will be assessed and evaluated and eligible applications scoring at least 50% of the selection criteria shall be ranked and grants shall be awarded subject to budget availability.
What aid will be awarded?
The minimum funding amount under this scheme is set at €10,000 whilst the maximum grant value is set at €500,000 with the following aid intensities:
| Size of Undertaking | Aid intensity | ||
| Projects in Gozo | Projects in Malta (within Regional Aid map) | Projects in Malta (outside Regional Aid Map) | |
| Micro & Small | 35% | 30% | 20% |
| Medium | 25% | 20% | 10% |
Key Deadlines
This Scheme shall be administered through an open rolling call with the list of cut-off dates scheduled as follows:
- Wednesday, 31 July 2024 - noon
- Friday, 30 August 2024 - noon
- Monday, 30 September 2024 - noon
- Thursday, 31 October 2024 - noon
- Friday, 29 November 2024 - noon
- Tuesday, 31 December 2024 - noon
How can we help?
With years of experience working with EU funding schemes, our team of professionals in advisory can help you develop solutions to face your challenges and operate more profitably, with the support of our international network. We can assist you in making value-adding decisions by identifying opportunities within your operations and carefully selecting the most suitable funding scheme available to you.
We will also support you throughout the application process. PwC can prepare and compile the content and collate the documentation required as part of the grant scheme application form.
Should you require any further information or have any queries on these schemes, or the support that we offer, including on entity eligibility, please do not hesitate to reach out to us for further guidance.
