What is product development support (grant)?
The purpose of the support is to encourage companies to invest more in development activities that will lead to the development of new competitive products and services. The aim is to increase the sales revenue of entrepreneurs from new or significantly changed products and services.
The following companies can apply for support (grant):
The applicant may be companies entered in the Estonian Commercial Register whose average sales revenue in the last two financial years was at least 200,000 euros.
Rate of support
- up to 45% for small businesses
- up to 35% for a medium-sized company
- up to 25% for a large company
- + 15% for COVID-19 and other antiviral research projects *
* COVID-19 and other antiviral research is research into vaccines, medicines and medical devices, medical devices and hospital and medical equipment, disinfectants, protective clothing and equipment, and relevant innovative processes for the efficient production of the necessary products.
The maximum grant amount is EUR 500,000.
Projects in the following areas of activity are excluded:
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing, and the processing and preservation of fish, crustaceans and molluscs
- Sales brokerage
- Wholesale and retail trade, except maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
- Real estate activities
- Production of tobacco products
- Gambling and betting
- Financial and insurance activities
- Legal and accounting activities, head office activities and management consultancy activities, advertising (including online advertising) and market research
- Renting and operating leases and temporary staf
What is supported?
- Personnel costs of project staff (incl. Taxes)
- Costs of tools and equipment used for product development according to their useful life in the project
- Outsourcing of research and services for product development
- Acquisition of materials and accessories necessary for product development
Eligibility period:
The eligibility period starts from the date of submission of the application to Enterprise Estonia or from a later date indicated in the application. Expenditure incurred before the application is submitted is not eligible. The cost is calculated on an accrual basis and the date of incurrence is considered to be the date on which the cost statement is prepared.
The project can be implemented until 31.08.2023.
Evaluation criteria (in general):
- the contribution of the project to the fulfillment of the objectives and results of the support and the impact of the project on the financial results of the company (40% of the total grade);
- quality of the project (the realistic, clear and measurable results of the project are assessed) (20% of the total grade);
- the applicant’s ability to carry out the project, in which the applicant’s product development and financial capacity and risk management skills are assessed (20% of the total grade);
- Impact of the project on the environment and climate, assessing the project’s contribution to waste reduction, resource efficiency, the emergence of a low-carbon climate-resilient economy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (10% of the total score).
Documents to be attached to the application (as appropriate):
- Project plan;
- Action plan and budget (Enterprise Estonia form);
- Forecast of economic indicators (Enterprise Estonia form);
- Report of the previous and current financial year;
- The scheme of corporate members (Enterprise Estonia form) and the consolidated financial indicators of the group (number of employees, balance sheet and income statement) must be submitted if the company belongs to the group (corporation).
Additional information
Read more about what help TJO Konsultatsioonid can offer when applying for EU funding or contact us. We are happy to answer your questions in more detail!
Source: EAS