Call for Digital Transformation of SMEs, now it’s official.

The world of companies that want to grow and innovate today must know that on 6 October 2020 the decree reporting the details of the SME Digital Transformation Fund was published by the Ministry of Economic Development.

The aim is to promote the technological and digital transformation of the production processes of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, through the application of advanced technologies provided within Enterprise 4.0 and those related to digital technology solutions of the supply chain.

You will be able to fill out the facilitation applications from 15 December 2020 through the online service accessible from the MISE and Invitalia portals that are entrusted with the management of the procedure.

Which companies can benefit from the benefits?

The requirements of applying SMEs require them to be;

• registered as active in the Register of Companies;
• They operate predominantly or primarily in manufacturing and/or direct services to manufacturing and/or tourism and/or trade;
• In the year to which the last approved and deposited financial statements relate, they achieved an amount of sales and performance revenues of at least EUR 100,000.00;
• They have at least two financial statements approved and filed with the Register of Companies;
• They are not subject to a competitive procedure and are not in a state of bankruptcy, voluntary liquidation, controlled administration, a pre-emptive agreement or in any other equivalent situation in accordance with the current legislation.

Only one application for access to the facilities can also be submitted in group mode, up to a maximum of 10, through the network contract tool or other contractual forms of collaboration, including the consortium and the partnership agreement in which you involve, as a leading promoter, a DIH-digital innovation hub or a digital EDI-ecosystem for innovation, referred to in the National Industry Plan 4.0.

What projects can be funded?

Projects eligible for facilitation must be directed to the technological and digital transformation of the production processes of the proposers through the implementation of

1. Enabling technologies identified by the National Industry Plan 4.0. (advanced manufacturing solutions, additive manufacturing, augmented reality, simulation, horizontal and vertical integration, industrial internet, cloud, cybersecurity, big data and analytics) and/or;

2. Technologies related to digital supply chain technology solutions, aimed at:

1) to optimise distribution chain management and relationship management with different actors;

2) to the software;

3) to digital platforms and applications for logistics management and coordination with high service integration characteristics;

4) to other technologies, such as e-commerce systems, mobile and internet payment systems, fintech, electronic data interchange-EDI systems, geolocation, in-store customer experience technologies, system integration applied to process automation, blockchain, artificial intelligence, the internet of things.

3. For this purpose, projects must include:

1. Process innovation or innovation activities of the organisation, that is;

2. investments.

What are the facilities provided?

The facilities provided by the MISE Digital Transformation call reserved for SMEs are granted on the basis of a nominal percentage of eligible costs and expenses of 50%:

· 10% in the form of a contribution;

· 40% as subsidized financing.

The subsidized financing must be returned by the interest-free beneficiary from the date of disbursement of the last balance of the concessions, according to a six-month instalment amortization plan for a maximum period of 7 years.

The Executive Decree 1 October 2020 –Digital Transformation has been published in the Official Journal 164 of 1 July 2020 and the legislation establishing the criteria, conditions and arrangements for the granting and disbursement of the facilities can be found on the website of the Ministry of Economic Development.