FDC has launched a Call for Projects "Intensification of Sustainable Growth and Competitiveness of SMEs," which applies to investments made in the seven counties of the South-Muntenia region, namely: Argeș, Călărași, Dâmbovița, Giurgiu, Ialomița, Prahova, and Teleorman by SMEs.

Eligible investment categories:

Through regional state aid:

• Construction, expansion, production/service spaces
• Equipment, facilities, etc.
• Services Investments in intangible assets:
• Patents, licenses, trademarks, software, and other similar rights and assets.

Through de minimis aid:

• Design and technical assistance;
• Consulting activities;
• Mandatory communication and visibility activities related to the project;
• Internationalization activities;
• Investments in adapting production technological processes to certification and standardization systems specific to export markets, etc., certification, and homologation of products and services;
• Financial audit activities.

The value of non-repayable financial assistance is between 300,000 - 3,000,000 Euros/project. The support intensity is up to 70%.

Eligibility criteria:

The eligibility criterion regarding the registered office has been eliminated. Therefore, companies with registered offices in other development regions can implement projects in the South Muntenia Region.

The main objective of the program is to support the development of micro-enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the South Muntenia development region.

This call for projects applies to investments made in the seven counties of the South-Muntenia region: Argeș, Călărași, Dâmbovița, Giurgiu, Ialomița, Prahova, and Teleorman, by micro-enterprises, small and medium-sized non-agricultural enterprises from rural and urban areas, including the villages adjacent to them.

Indicative actions refer to support through:

• Investments in tangible and intangible assets;
• Activities specific to the circular economy;
• Activities specific to internationalization;
• Activities specific to certification and homologation of products and services;
• Digitalization activities, as related activities, as part of an integrated project.

This call applies to support measures consisting of granting regional state aid and de minimis aid for the development of micro-enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises within the Regional Program South Muntenia 2021-2027.

Eligible investment categories:

1. Through regional state aid:

• Construction works, expansion, production/service spaces
• Equipment, facilities, etc.
• Services
• Investments in intangible assets: patents, licenses, trademarks, software, and other similar rights and assets.

1. Through de minimis aid:

• Design and technical assistance;
• Consulting activities: for the elaboration of the financing application and business plan; in the field of investment management or contract execution administration (project management); in the elaboration, organization, and conduct of procurement procedures
• Mandatory communication and visibility activities related to the project;
• Internationalization activities;
• Investments in adapting production technological processes to certification and standardization systems specific to export markets, etc., certification, and homologation of products and services;
• Financial audit activities.

The maximum value of non-repayable financial assistance is:

• 500,000 Euros if the applicant's revenues, for the CAEN class for which funding is requested, in the financial year preceding the submission of the funding application, are less than 50,000 euros;
• Ten times higher than the applicant's revenues, for the CAEN class for which funding is requested, in the financial year preceding the submission of the funding application, but not exceeding 3,000,000 euros.

The minimum value of non-repayable financial assistance requested for a project is 300,000 euros.

If the project includes both initial investments eligible for regional state aid and investments eligible for de minimis aid, the maximum allowable intensity for financing eligible expenses through regional state aid is 70%.

The maximum non-repayable funding granted as de minimis aid is 100% of the eligible value of expenses eligible for de minimis aid, respecting the de minimis cap of 200,000 euros and the flat-rate rate.

Regional state aid for investments represents regional aid granted for an initial investment related to:

• creating a new unit
• expanding the capacity of an existing unit
• diversifying the production of a unit with products/services that have not been previously manufactured/provided in the unit.

Eligibility criteria:

• The funding applicant has not had its activity temporarily suspended at any time in the current year of submitting the funding application – 2023 and in the previous fiscal year, namely 2022, and has recorded operating profit;
• The funding applicant has carried out activities in the South Muntenia region for a period corresponding to at least one full fiscal year before submitting the funding application, starting from January 1, 2022;
• The funding applicant has an authorized CAEN code eligible for the investment, at the project's implementation site, the main or secondary social headquarters of the applicant, whether it carries out activity on that CAEN code or not.

Or

In the case where the investment for which funding is requested involves the establishment of a new workplace, at the time of submitting the funding application, the funding applicant has:

• an authorized CAEN code eligible for the investment, either at the existing social headquarters/workplaces or at third parties, and the funding applicant undertakes to prove the authorization of the CAEN code, including at the project's implementation site, at the end of the implementation stage;
• an authorized CAEN code eligible for the investment included in the constitutive act, and the funding applicant undertakes to prove the authorization of the CAEN code at the project's implementation site at the end of the implementation stage.
• The funding applicant has obtained revenues for the CAEN class for which funding is requested in the year before submitting the funding application;
• The funding applicant has a legal right over the project's implementation site, land and/or building, which gives it the right to carry out the proposed investment;
• The property, land, and/or building are free of any encumbrances, prohibitions, or legal restrictions affecting the project's implementation;
• The investment will be carried out in the South Muntenia Region;
• The investment must target the eligible activity of the applicant, which is the subject of the project.

The proposed activities must focus on a single field of activity (CAEN class) that constitutes the project's subject.

Additional information at +40.731.536.459, email [email protected].