For the year 2022 many grants and various digitalization vouchers have been announced for the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Croatia. Tenders are announced based on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan worth EUR 9.9 million. Digitalization has long been knocking on the door, and that is why this opportunity is great for SMEs to start their digital revolution. Below is an overview of grants and vouchers for digitalization.
Digitalization Grants
The goal of the grants for digitalization is to support the digital transformation of Croatian companies by providing financial support for the introduction of digital solutions in the business. Through grants, entrepreneurs can finance the purchase of equipment and software, employee training, salary costs for the period in which employees work on the project, the costs of external service providers, additional overhead costs, and other operating expenses.
The total available budget is HRK 206,000,000. The program includes 275 small and medium enterprises in three calls or 92 SMEs per call.
Amount of aid:
- The maximum amount of grants per project proposal: HRK 750,000
- Aid intensity: up to 85%
An acceptable business digitalization project includes:
- introduction of a new way of doing business,
- improvement in terms of new production capabilities, delivery capabilities or business practices,
- a certain level of innovation and risk,
- should not focus on routine operational changes/adjustments to business due to regulatory changes.
Companies that will receive support will need to prove that they will not use it to increase greenhouse gas emissions if they invest in server capacity or any other type of equipment that consumes more energy. Ex-post monitoring has also been announced, and entrepreneurs can prove this, for example, with plans to purchase renewable energy sources.
Digitalization Vouchers
The digitalization voucher aims to strengthen the capacity of SMEs to implement digitalization and start the process of digital transformation. It has been announced for the first half of 2022 and will be funded based on investment vouchers in the development of digital transformation strategies, digital marketing, complex digital products and services, digital skills, and cyber resilience.
The target group is SMEs who want to develop their digital business model with an emphasis on innovative projects. It is important to note that using one voucher is not a prerequisite for using another. SMEs can use a maximum of two vouchers per tender.
Amount of aid:
- Total available budget: HRK 75,000,000
- Eligible beneficiaries: SMEs in collaboration with large companies and research institutions
| GOALS AND PURPOSE | AMOUNT OF AID | |
|---|---|---|
| Digital Transformation Voucher: | This voucher aims to help SMEs test the potential for digitalization, examine the viability of the idea and design a strategy for digital transformation.The total available budget is HRK 9,000,000. The program includes 110 small and medium-sized enterprises in three calls or 37 SMEs per call. | The maximum amount of vouchers per project proposal: HRK 76,000Eligible costs: development of digital transformation strategy, general costs, external services. |
| Digital Skills Voucher: | The purpose of this voucher is to assist employees in acquiring the skills needed to carry out digital transformation, which may include one or more education and training programs.The total available budget is HRK 14,500,000. The program includes up to 190 SMEs in three calls or 63 SMEs per call. | The maximum amount of vouchers per project proposal: HRK 75,000Eligible costs: artificial intelligence and security, training of software design experts, training of data management experts, and development of new digital skills related to cloud computing |
| Digital Marketing Voucher: | This voucher aims to enable the development and implementation of digital marketing strategies for SMEs following the relevant factors necessary for the digitalization of their businesses. The funds can also be used to support, develop, and strengthen the capacity of the Internet using it as an effective channel for business development.The total available budget is HRK 15,000,000. The program includes up to 200 SMEs in three calls or 66 SMEs per call. | The maximum amount of vouchers per project proposal: HRK 75,000Eligible costs: website development, development, and testing of mobile applications, development of online stores and booking platforms, use of data to improve interaction with customers |
| Voucher for the development or application of complex digital products and services: | This voucher aims to support research and development pilot projects for the introduction of complex digital products and services. This includes a wide range of services, and some of them are the Internet of Things (IoT), smart services, automation, projects involving Big Data, virtual and augmented realities, and the like.The total available budget is HRK 14,500,000. The program includes up to 95 SMEs in three calls or 30 SMEs per call. | The maximum amount of vouchers per project proposal: HRK 150,000Eligible costs: services of research and development entities that may include material costs incurred as part of development services, (eg prototyping) |
| Cyber Resistance Voucher: | The goal of the voucher is to increase cyber security by introducing system security checks.The total available budget is HRK 22,000,000. The program includes up to 210 SMEs in three calls or 70 SMEs per call. | The maximum amount of vouchers per project proposal: HRK 110,000Eligible costs: preparation of safety and technical reports, data security checks, penetration tests |
Digitalization tenders are just some of the many available to entrepreneurs, and the first announcement of these is expected in II. quarter 2022. If you want to know more about all available tenders, contact us.
