“We are creating more opportunities for small businesses to grow and create new jobs. We hope that with the help of experienced mentors, small businesses will get the impetus they need to both implement new ideas and expand and grow their existing businesses,” says Ieva Valeškaitė, Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation.
Under the new measure, business incubators, business centres, digital innovation hubs and “Spiečius” co-working centres will implement project implementation plans. Entrepreneurs who have started their business at least three years ago will be able to approach these centres for advice, training and other services they need to successfully start or grow their business.
“Businesses that benefit from the assistance will have easier access to the services provided by the business centres, a convenient workspace, and professional mentors to help them refine their product or service idea from the initial phase through to creation and sale. These services will help to stimulate the establishment, growth and development of new small and medium-sized enterprises in Western and Central Lithuania, increase their competitiveness on the market and reduce the gap with the Capital Region,” says Gintarė Kuncaitytė, Head of Investment Assessment of the Investment Management Department of the Innovation Agency.
Selection of projects underway
Business promotion centres that carry out business consultancy, pre-acceleration, incubation activities or implement mentoring programmes will be able to use the project funds to finance the costs of renting premises and equipment for the implementation of project activities, the salaries of the project staff, and the costs of business trips. It will also be possible to finance the costs of marketing and other services required to increase the dissemination of projects.
The maximum amount of funding available to applicants is EUR 800,000 and the minimum is EUR 170,000. Up to 85% of the costs of project activities will be financed. The remaining 15% of the costs will have to be covered by the applicants or the SMEs receiving the services.
Applicants will have up to 36 months to implement their projects and complete all activities and three months from the date of signature of the project contract to start activities.
The services of participating institutions and project partners – Lithuanian municipalities – and non-financial support will be available to SMEs operating in Central and Western Lithuania and to individuals self-employed under an individual activity certificate or a business certificate, who have been in business for no more than three years at the time of the application. Beneficiary companies must also be registered in the Register of Legal Entities, submit their financial reports to the State Tax Inspectorate and the State Social Insurance Fund Board (SoDra), have revenues and employees. This aid measure does not apply to startups.
Applicants will be assessed on the basis of their experience. Applicants must have implemented at least one pre-acceleration programme, incubation programme or mentoring activity. They are also required to have participated in one or more of the activities implemented with at least 100 unique SMEs, of which at least 70% have continued their operation one year after the implementation of such activities.
Another assessment criterion relates to premises: the applicant or partner must have an office in Central and Western Lithuania, suitable for the provision of quality services, which is permanently operational during the project implementation period, and which is equipped with at least four workstations for the final beneficiaries.
Business centres, business incubators, digital innovation hubs, “Spiečius” co-working centres wishing to receive funding under this measure are invited to register for a remote event on 25 April, at 10:00 a.m., where experts from the Innovation Agency will provide a broader overview of the call, eligible costs, requirements for applicants, and will answer any questions.
All call documents (terms and forms to fill in) are available on the website of the Innovation Agency.
Project implementation plans can be emailed to the Innovation Agency by 31 July 2023, at 17:00, to esinvesticijos@inovacijuagentura.lt.
To strengthen the Lithuanian economy, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation plans to implement measures totalling almost EUR 1 billion by the end of 2023. Of this amount, around EUR 365 million has been earmarked for business, innovation and investment, EUR 320 million for the digitisation of the state and business, and EUR 268 million for the greener economy.
