Subsidy opportunities for entrepreneurs in 2019

INNOVATION
Under the Enterprise and Innovations for Competitiveness Operational Programme, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is planning to announce a call for projects focusing on water management, particularly water recycling, during a manufacturing process.

• The call is planned to be announced in May 2019.
• Subsidies may amount to a minimum of CZK 1 million and a maximum of CZK 40 million per project.
• Percentagewise, subsidies granted to large enterprises may amount to 25%.

A criterion that may disqualify large enterprises is the fulfilment of the 065 intervention code condition: the ministry will support large enterprises only if they can prove that their projects have a positive impact on the environment. Further details will be disclosed within the call.

EPSILON
The EPSILON programme, focusing on applied research and experimental development, supports projects whose results have a high potential to be quickly applied in new products, manufacturing procedures and services.  However, support is only granted to projects that result in at least one of the following: patent, prototype, functional sample, pilot plant, verified technology, software, industrial and utility design, certified methodology and procedures, and specialised maps with technical content.

• The call is planned to be announced in February 2019.
• CZK 1 billion for all years should be distributed among projects participating in the public tender.

Employment Operational Programme
The programme aims to support employment. In 2019, entrepreneurs may apply for a subsidy under the Intracompany Employee Education II programme, designed to support, in particular, professional education of employees by employers focusing on the development of professional and key competencies, IT, languages, soft skills, and technical skills.

• The call is planned to be announced on 15 March 2019.
• Funds for allocation amount to CZK 1.7 billion.

EFEKT
EFEKT is an accessory programme to the operational and national energy programmes aimed at promoting energy savings. It is divided into two sub-programmes: small-scale investment projects (sub-programme 1) and non-investment projects in form of energy consulting, energy management implementation, preparation of energy-efficient projects, and preparation of events and documents to support energy saving (sub-programme 2). Entrepreneurs may only apply for a subsidy under sub-programme 2; for example, they may obtain funds to implement an energy management system or to carry out high-quality and energy-efficient projects. The EFEKT programme is announced via separate calls to participate in individual activities.

• The planned programme budget is CZK 150 million.

Additional calls are in preparation for subsidy applicants representing small or medium-size enterprises. If you are interested in applying for the above subsidies, we will be happy to discuss with you your project’s specifics and objectives as well as a particular call’s applicable criteria.