On August 28th, the application period opens for investment support aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of rural entrepreneurs for the 2023–2027 period. The acceptance of applications will remain open until the budgetary resources for this application round are exhausted.
The nature of the support is similar to the investment support for diversifying economic activities in rural areas applied during the 2014–2020 period, but the support scheme for the new period has significantly changed. Applicants are strongly advised to carefully review all the conditions and requirements for obtaining the support, and to thoroughly consider all activities and financing related to the application and investment before submitting their application.
The aim of the support is to increase the competitiveness of micro and small enterprises operating permanently in rural areas, which in turn is a prerequisite for the creation of new attractive jobs in these areas.
Conditions:
– Support can be applied for by micro and small enterprises (hereafter referred to as the applicant) who have been operational for at least two financial years prior to the application and have generated a sales revenue of at least 40,000 euros in each of the two financial years immediately preceding the year of application.
– In both financial years immediately preceding the application, the average number of employees of the applicant, recalculated to full-time equivalent, must be at least one, and throughout both financial years, at least one employment contract-based job must have been filled all year round.
– The applicant’s place of activity must be located in a rural or small town area (hereinafter referred to as a rural area), excluding the municipalities surrounding Tallinn such as Harku, Saue, Saku, Kiili, Rae, Jõelähtme, and Viimsi.
Supported activities:
1. Acquisition of tangible or intangible assets;
2. Construction of a building at the applicant’s permanent place of activity in a rural area.
The planned activity of the applicant (hereinafter referred to as the project) must increase their competitiveness through at least one of the following priorities:
1. Introduction of new technology for the applicant. Projects that help the enterprise to adopt new technology, thereby better meeting customer expectations, are supported. A technology is considered new if it enables something that could not be done with the existing tools, equipment, or machinery.
2. Implementation of an information technology solution. Projects that contribute to the digitalization of the company are supported, especially considering how the investment made within the project contributes to increasing the company’s competitiveness, including making economic activities more efficient, improving the quality of production or service provision, and enhancing sales activities. For example, if a new software solution is implemented in the company, it is assessed how this contributes to the growth of the company’s sales revenue.
3. Improvement of resource efficiency. Projects that contribute to achieving environmentally friendly and climate-neutral goals in the company, such as reducing material waste, increasing material recycling, and saving energy, etc., are supported. In the case of construction, this could be, for example, the energy savings following the construction of a new production building.
The maximum size of support per applicant during the strategic plan period is 200,000 euros, with a minimum size per application of 10,000 euros. Support is provided at 15 to 40 percent of the eligible cost of the project.
The budget for this application round is 20,000,000 euros. The support is financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Estonian state budget.
For further information: