On 25/06/2021 the Call for Proposals for the e-Retail Grant Action was published, which was expected with great interest in the commercial sector, which is currently severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

The new e-Retail Action will be co-funded with resources from Greece and the European Union ( European Regional Development Fund - ERDF ) and aims to provide grants to SMEs for the creation or upgrading of an e-shop.

e-Retail – Eligible businesses

The following are eligible to apply:

• Existing businesses , if they have been established and have acquired an eligible ID by 30/09/2019
• Newly established businesses , if they have been established and have acquired an eligible ID from 1/10/2019 until the date of the call for proposals.

Eligible for the Action are medium, small and micro enterprises that meet the following criteria:

• have as their main activity, at the head office or at the branch, or as an activity with the largest revenues the retail sector (nace code 47 and its Details)
• maintain a physical retail store, in a separate area of their home, i.e. a commercial space that welcomes and serves customers,
• the head office and/or branches have been suspended for at least one day from Wednesday 18 March 2020 onwards;
• existing businesses must have a decrease of at least 20% in their turnover in the 4th quarter of the year 2020 compared to the corresponding quarter of the year 2019

Eligible Expenditure for e-Retail

The total grant amounts up to the amount of € 5,000.00 for each business for the purpose of developing and managing an online store and covers the following categories of costs:

IT equipment (only for new online stores): Up to 30% of the total budget

1. Servers / servers for hosting applications - software required for the creation / upgrade and operation of an online store, with its accompanying elements (keyboards, screen, etc.) and the required operating system. Acquisition in the form of Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS) is also permitted. In the case of acquisition in the form of Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS), the cost for one year is eligible.
2. Desktop/Laptop.
3. Other technological equipment related to the creation / upgrade and operation of an online store (e.g. Network equipment, Bar code readers, printers, etc.).

Software: Up to 100% of the total budget

1. E-shop design, development and management services. It should operate in 2 languages, as well as in a mobile responsive or dedicated mobile version and integrate ordering (basket), warehouse (quantity of items) and secure electronic payments (redirect in a banking environment).
2. Development and/or certification of a digital security policy.

Note: In case of upgrade of an existing online store (e-shop) that the business had before 18/3/2020:

• the costs of supplying equipment are not eligible
• The total amount of the grant to the company may not exceed the amount of 1,500 euros

The starting date for eligibility of expenditure is 18 March 2020

Timetable for implementation

The deadline for the completion of the funded investments cannot exceed six (6) months from the date of issue of the Integration Decision.

Evaluation process

The evaluation process will be comparative based on the objective criterion of the decrease in turnover of the 4th quarter of the year 2020 compared to the 4th quarter of the year 2019 and the approval of the grant of the funding applications will be made per Region Category.

For start-ups the reduction will be considered 100% in their turnover.

Application deadline: 22/02/2021 - 24/03/2021

More information about the action here.