The Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry (MEIT) announces a Call for Proposals under the Business Digital Upgrade Plan, which is included in the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RESP) of Cyprus for the period 2021-2026 and will be financed by the Recovery Mechanism and European Union (EU) Resilience Fund, the central tool of NextGenerationEU, the temporary instrument for financing the EU’s recovery and exit from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The total amount that will be allocated for the needs of the Plan, which is implemented within the framework of Measure C3.3I4 of the SAA, during its implementation period amounts to €10 million.
The Plan aims to encourage investments in digital entrepreneurship and to strengthen the degree of integration of digital technology in businesses thus contributing to the strategic goals of the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan to strengthen and accelerate the digital transition of the Cypriot Economy.
The right to participate in the Plan is available to existing small and medium-sized enterprises that will implement expenses in the category of digital upgrading (including e-commerce), as well as new small- and medium-sized enterprises whose investment proposal necessarily includes e-commerce/store and/or the application of advanced digital technologies.
Businesses should be established or established in Cyprus, excluding areas where the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control due to the Turkish invasion.
The intensity of the sponsorship amounts to 50% of the eligible budget of the proposal with a maximum sponsorship amount of €50,000 and can cover costs for equipment required for the digital upgrade, “off the shelf” software, specialized software, systems, programs and IT services , as well as other digital upgrade costs not directly related to IT systems.
In the case of businesses that are established or will be established in mountainous and disadvantaged areas, the intensity of the sponsorship amounts to 60% of the eligible budget of the proposal with a maximum sponsorship amount of €60,000.
It is clarified that applications will be accepted for a total amount of up to €14 million, but in any case the approvals will not exceed the available budget. The order of priority will be determined based on the order in which proposals are submitted (immediate evaluation).
The proposal submission period will begin on 07 March 2023 at 09:00 a.m. and applications will be accepted through the YEEB’s electronic Grant Scheme System until March 31, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. or until the amount of €14 million is used up.
It is emphasized that a business that has submitted an application under the 1st Notice of the Business Digital Upgrade Plan (November 2022), will not be able to submit an application under this 2nd Notice, unless the application has been withdrawn or rejected before the submission date of the new
Interested parties are encouraged to apply only when their investment proposals are mature and they have all the necessary supporting documents.
Further details in the website of The Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry (MEIT) (www.meci.gov.cy/sit)
It is noted that applications/proposals and the relevant required supporting documents should only be submitted electronically through the website http://fundingapps.mcit.gov.cy, using Chrome, Firefox and Edge browsers.
For more information, those interested can contact the relevant Officers at 22867282, 22867284, 22837236, 22867121, 22867149, 22867151, 22867247.
Link: https://meci.gov.cy