Start a Business (Xekino Epicheirimatika): 100% Grant of up to €36,000 for Graduates

START A BUSINESS

The Action "START A BUSINESS" («ΞΕΚΙΝΩ ΕΠΙΧΕΙΡΗΜΑΤΙΚΑ») is part of the Operational Programme (OP) "Competitiveness 2021–2027" under ESPA. The purpose of the Action is to activate human capital by strengthening self-employment and developing new business initiatives that contribute to higher employment. 

This programme mainly concerns skilled and trained young men and women with entrepreneurial ability, in particular higher education graduates who obtained their first degree after 1/1/2016. The Action subsidises the establishment and operation of new small and micro enterprises for a period of up to 18 months, as well as the creation of new jobs, supporting the entry of new entrepreneurs into the market.

A distinctive feature of the "START A BUSINESS"  Action is that "geographical and social justice" is built into the selection mechanism in an explicit and measurable way. The evaluation takes into account criteria of declining population, of regional economic convergence (based on GDP per capita in each Regional Unit) and of special natural-disaster areas (areas affected by fire, earthquake or flood). The Action also gives extra points to potential beneficiaries with a certified disability, whatever its percentage. The goal is to halt demographic decline and to keep young graduates in their local communities through new small businesses.

The Action is implemented with simplified cost options (SCO) and is subsidised at 100% of the subsidised budget, in accordance with Article 53 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. This means that beneficiaries are not required to submit invoices or proof of payment — it is enough to verify that the operating milestones (six-month periods) have been reached. 

Who It Concerns

Eligible Categories of Enterprises:

• Category A – To be established: Enterprises that will be set up after the date the application is submitted and no later than 365 days after the electronic notification of the final approval.
• Category B – Newly established: Enterprises that started their activity from 01/01/2025 up to and including the date the funding application is submitted.

Size: Exclusively small and micro enterprises (SMEs):

• Micro: < 10 employees, turnover or balance sheet total ≤ €2 million.
• Small: < 50 employees, turnover or balance sheet total ≤ €10 million.

Eligible Legal Forms:

• Société anonyme (A.E.), single-member société anonyme (M.A.E.), limited liability company (E.P.E.), single-member limited liability company (M.E.P.E.), general partnership (O.E.), limited partnership (E.E.), private company (I.K.E.), single-member private company (M.I.K.E.), sole proprietorship, civil for-profit company, Social Cooperative Enterprise (Law 4430/2016), civil professional company of lawyers, for-profit civil cooperative.

Mandatory requirements for the beneficiaries/partners:

• Holders of a higher education degree (university or technological institute, AEI/TEI), or of a degree from a recognised Higher School of Arts Education or a state-recognised conservatory — obtained after 01/01/2016 (first degree).
• Personal income for the last tax year (2024 or 2025) ≤ €30,000. If the beneficiary is a dependant with no obligation to file a tax return, family income ≤ €75,000.
• They must not be in salaried employment and must not receive an old-age pension at the start and throughout the implementation period.
• They must not participate as a partner/shareholder (≥25%) in other enterprises, or exercise dominant influence over them, from 01/01/2025 onwards.
• They must not have been approved for, or have applied to, other subsidised programmes from 01/01/2025 onwards.

KAD (activity codes): They are listed in detail in Annex II "ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES (KAD)" of the "START A BUSINESS" call. The table with all the eligible KAD codes is in the Useful Files section. The codes come from almost every sector and cover areas such as forestry, mining and quarrying, industry, trade, services, ICT, tourism, food service, education, health, cultural and creative industries and many more. The enterprise must operate exclusively under eligible KAD code(s) throughout the implementation period.
 

Geographical coverage: All of Greece.

Other exclusion conditions:

• Offshore companies, financial/insurance institutions and sports clubs/associations are excluded.
• Franchising, shop-in-shop and agency-network businesses are excluded.
• The enterprise must operate in self-contained, purely business premises that are not used as a residence and are not shared with another enterprise.
• The conditions of the De Minimis Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 must be met — total aid ≤ €300,000 over a rolling three-year period.
• No recovery of state aid must be pending.
• It must not be in bankruptcy, liquidation or compulsory administration.
• One single application per tax identification number (AFM), whether as a sole proprietor or as a partner.
   

Program Budget

• Total public expenditure: €70,000,000
• Allocation by category of region:
  • Less Developed Regions (North Aegean, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Central Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Western Greece, Crete, Western Macedonia, Ionian Islands, Central Greece, Peloponnese): €55,000,000
  • Regions in Transition (Attica, South Aegean): €15,000,000
     

Amount of Subsidy
 

• Type of aid: Grant — 100% public funding, with no private contribution.
• Amount per category of enterprise:

• How the lump sum is split across the milestones:

• Minimum duration: Two six-month periods (12 months) are mandatory. If only two six-month periods are completed, the grant comes to €8,700 (sole proprietorship) or €14,000 (company).
• Unit cost for a new job: €15,000 per 1 AWU, annual work unit (maximum 1 AWU per application). It includes gross pay, festive bonuses, leave allowance and employer contributions.
• Aid scheme: De Minimis (EU) 2023/2831 
• Obligations to maintain: The enterprise must keep operating and keep its eligible KAD codes throughout the implementation period and until the grant has been paid in full. 
   

Expenses Subsidized

The "START A BUSINESS" Action is implemented with simplified cost options (SCO) — no invoices or proof of payment need to be submitted. The expense categories are indicative:

A. Lump Sum — operation of the enterprise:

• Operating costs: rent for business premises, electricity, fixed and mobile telephony, water, heating, shared building charges, hosting costs in incubators.
• Third-party fees: legal, consulting and accounting support, drafting/monitoring of the business plan, incubator services, specialised vocational training seminars.
• Promotion, networking and trade fair costs: design/production of a corporate identity, participation in trade fairs, development of a company website.
• Consumables: consumable materials directly related to operations, raw materials and intermediate products (for manufacturing activities).
• Equipment: purchase of equipment, equipment leasing, depreciation of fixed assets.
• Social security contributions of the beneficiary (entrepreneur/partners).
   

B. Unit Cost — new job:

• Wage cost for 1 AWU: gross pay, festive bonuses, leave allowance, employer social security contributions.
   

Non-eligible expenses:

• Cost of employees on an internship.
• Pay for spouses or first- and second-degree relatives of the partners/shareholders or of the management.
• An AWU of salaried employment that is co-financed by another body (e.g. DYPA, the Public Employment Service).
   

General rule on the eligibility of expenses:

• For newly established enterprises: from the date of start of activity at AADE (the tax authority).
• For enterprises to be established: from the date of start of activity at AADE (after approval).
• In the case of investment in an establishment other than the registered office: from the date that establishment starts operating.
   

Important Dates

• 30/04/2026 — Issue and signing of the Call (ADA: 9ΡΙΒΗ-ΔΟΟ, Ref. No.: 67978 ΕΞ 2026)
• 06/05/2026 — 15:00 — Start of online submission of applications in OPSKE
• 30/06/2026 — 15:00 — Deadline for online submission of applications
• After submissions close: comparative evaluation of all proposals — the text sets no specific completion date
• Within 365 days of notification of approval (for enterprises to be established): mandatory start of activity at AADE
• Within 10 calendar days of notification of the results: deadline for filing an objection

Useful Files

Supporting documents for an application to the "START A BUSINESS" Action (in Greek)

Eligible KAD codes for "START A BUSINESS" (in Greek)