The support aims to diversify the economy of Ida-Viru and create new high-value-added jobs. Projects eligible for support are those carried out by entrepreneurs operating in Ida-Viru or investing in the region.
The support measures are targeted towards:
- Companies looking to develop innovative technologies, processes, products, or services; experimenting with new materials, or gathering knowledge on technological feasibility.
- Entrepreneurs can participate independently or in collaboration with other companies, research institutions, testing laboratories, or intellectual property experts.
- All companies registered in the Estonian Business Register, regardless of size and operating time, planning to implement a project in Ida-Viru or planning to invest in the region, are eligible to participate. Participating companies must not be in financial distress.
In the application round, the minimum requested support amount is €100,000, and the maximum is €5,000,000. The required co-financing ranges from 20% to 75%.
Projects can apply for support in two application rounds:
- For projects involving only research and development activities, applications are open continuously until the budgeted funds (€5.447 million) are exhausted, with support ranging from €100,000 to €2 million per project.
- For projects covering pilot infrastructure, applications are open continuously until the budgeted funds (€15 million) are exhausted, with a maximum support of €5 million per project.
The support can be used for:
- Conducting applied research
- Product development
- Carrying out feasibility studies
- Initial protection of intellectual property
- Design, infrastructure development, network connection, and other supporting activities related to the establishment of a knowledge-intensive pilot infrastructure required for the initial industrial deployment of a new product, service, or technology.
Additional Information: