In a May 19 notice, MIMIT informs of the signing by Minister Adolfo Urso of the decree establishing a new call for proposals to strengthen the sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs in the territories of the Mezzogiorno regions (Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sicily and Sardinia).
From the words of the minister himself, the purpose of the allocation is clear: “With the allocation of these new fundswe intend to support investments, made by small and medium-sized enterprises in the South, in innovative projects that can ensure sustainable growth and stronger energy savings. Issues that are also increasingly urgent in light of the achievement of climate and environmental goals that can no longer be postponed.”
The decree provides for the allocation of 400 million euros from the National Program “Research, Innovation and Competitiveness for the Green and Digital Transition 2021-2027” (PN RIC 2021-2027).
It is specified that, the objective of the measure is to support the transition process of small and medium-sized enterprises in the regions of Southern Italy through the encouragement of innovative business investments that make extensive use of digital technologies, according to the Transition 4.0 Plan.
SME facilities Mezzogiorno: the projects that can be financed with 400 ML
The Ministry anticipates that in order to be eligible for the incentive, submitted projects will have to include the use of enabling technologies (e.g. cloud, virtual reality) intended:
- To the expansion of production capacity,
- To the diversification of production,
- To the creation of new products,
- or to the modification of the existing production process or the establishment of a new production unit.
For the purpose of assessing fundability, award scores are also recognized as significant for:
- projects aimed at the energy efficiency of the enterprise and resulting in energy savings of at least 5 percent, as well as for those aimed at introducing solutions related to thecircular economy into the production process.
- projects that contribute to achieving the climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives identified in Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No. 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 18, 2020,
- or for SMEs that have joined an environmental management or energy efficiency system or have an environmental product certification.
New call for SMEs Mezzogiorno: project requirements
It is emphasized that, projects should include eligible expenses
- Not less than a total of 750,000.00 euros,
- Not exceeding 5,000,000.00 euros,
- and be implemented in the regions of the South.
The public incentive will be able to cover up to 75 percent from expenses deemed eligible with a facility divided into a grant and a subsidized loan. Implementation rules will be forthcoming.