The preprint fornew NSRF programmes with a total budget of €350 million. euros announced the Deputy Minister of Investments and NSRF Alexis Charitsis.

Tourist businesses , existing SMEs, unemployed graduates and start-up companies will be able to apply for funding from the first actions of the new NSRF in one month.

Specifically, the new programs of the NSRF are:

• Support for self-employment of higher education graduates born before 1991 with a total budget of ECU 50 million. euro. Through the program, 2200 graduates are expected to be supported to make investments with a budget of 5,000 to 25,000 euros. The funding concerns 100% of the investment.
• Support for start-ups. With a budget of €120 million and covering investments up to €60,000 for 100% of the investment. It targets 2,500 enterprises.
• Upgrading of businesses that grow in new markets, with emphasis on extroversion, with a budget of 130 million euro. It concerns up to 1800 businesses.
• Support for small tourism businesses with a total budget of €50 million it concerns investments from 15,000-150,000 euros and aims to support up to 700 enterprises.

The pre-publication process aims at better preparation of stakeholders and open consultation, in order to optimize the characteristics of the actions.

The period for the submission of proposals will start with the publication of the relevant calls and will last at least two months. It is noted that in the evaluation of applications the submission time does not offer any advantage.

Finally, it should be noted that expenditure is considered eligible for funding if incurred after the date of submission of the application for funding.

Strengthening Self-Employment of Higher Education Graduates (NSRF)

The program Strengthening Self-Employment of Higher Education Graduates co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) under the Operational Programme "Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (EPANEK)" of the NSRF 2014 - 2020 and with the application of the flexibility clause for the financing of interventions falling within the scope of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The action is part of Priority Axis 2 of the ERANEK: "Adaptation of workers, enterprises and the business environment to new development requirements", and in particular, the specific objective: 2.1 "Increasing healthy start-up entrepreneurship and self-employment" and investment priority 8iii: "Self-employment, entrepreneurship and the creation of new enterprises and especially innovative enterprises". very small, small and Medium operations".

Who it concerns

Potential beneficiaries of the action are tertiary education graduates, who were born before 1.1.1991, for the initiation/support of the exercise of a professional activity related to their specialty and the organization of an independent professional space.

particularly:

• unemployed graduates of tertiary education, who were born before 1.1.1991, registered in the unemployment registers of the OAED at the time of application,

or

• individuals who are graduates of tertiary education, born before 1.1.1991, exercise a professional activity related to their specialty and do not have an employment relationship.

The professional activities that will be funded by the Program are indicatively the following:

Doctor, dentist, veterinarian, physiotherapist, biologist, psychologist, midwife, lawyer, architect, engineer, surveyor, chemist, agronomist, geologist, forester, oceanographer, designer, journalist, writer, interpreter, guide, translator, professor or teacher, artist sculptor or painter or cartoonist or engraver, actor, musician, dancer, choreographer, director, set designer, costume designer, decorator, economist, analyst, programmer, researcher or business consultant, accountant or tax technician, actuary, sociologist and social worker, etc.

Excluded are activities not supported by the ERDF (EC. 1301/2013, article 3 par.2) and the De minimis Regulation (EC.1407/2013, article 1), as well as activities related to catering. Retail trade is only eligible if it is an additional activity necessary for the provision of the service (e.g. sale of medicinal products by a veterinarian).

Budget

Within the framework of the program, projects with a total investment budget (subsidized budget) from € 5,000 to € 25,000 are supported.

The aid rate for investment proposals is set at 100% of the total investment budget.

It is possible to pay an advance payment of up to 40% of the corresponding Public Expenditure against an equal amount of a letter of guarantee, by a bank or other public financial institution established in Greece.

The public expenditure budget of the action amounts to 50 million € and will be divided into two cycles (1st cycle 2015: 35% and 2nd cycle 2016: 65% of the budget of the action).

Eligible nace code

The eligible categories of business activities (SMRs) that will receive a grant under the Action will be defined in detail in the Call of the Program.

Amount of subsidy

This programme of the 1^st cycle is funded with a total amount of 17,5 million € (Public Expenditure) and is distributed to the regions of the country as follows:

REGIONS	W/A (N/A) €
Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, Central Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Western Greece	10.500.000,00
Western Macedonia, Ionian Islands, Peloponnese, North Aegean, Crete	3.115.000,00
Attica	2.730.000,00
Central Greece	679.000,00
Southern Aegean Sea	476.000,00
TOTAL	17.500.000

Subsidy. Expenses

The eligible categories of costs that will receive a grant under this Pre-publication will be defined in the Call of the Programme. Indicative categories of eligible costs for the two-year aid period are:

• the necessary professional production equipment up to 40% of the total budget of the project (excluding the cost of the new job),
• the operating cost of the activity (rents of business premises, insurance contributions, benefits of third parties such as PPC, OTE, EYDAP, natural gas, mobile business telephony),
• hosting costs in incubators (provision of secretarial and administrative support, use of equipment, specialized consulting services - market analysis, legal and accounting issues, development of a business plan, human resources issues, specialized education / training services, networking actions to support business teams, coordination and evaluation of implementation, etc.),
• the costs of promotion and networking,
• wage labour costs (in the case of hiring an employee) up to one annual work unit (SRM),
• general equipment (offices, living rooms, etc.),
• accessibility interventions for people with disabilities,
• third-party fees.

It is noted that the companies that will be subsidized for their production equipment must be maintained for at least three (3) years from the completion of the business plan.

Dates

The start of eligibility of expenditure is defined as the date of submission of the application for funding. Please note that this announcement is a Pre-publication.

Supporting documents for the NSRF program

In order to be included in the programme, potential beneficiaries must submit an application for funding for evaluation based on the procedure set out in the Call for Proposals.

The conditions of participation, the required supporting documents, the way of submitting the proposals, the procedure for examining and evaluating the proposals, their inclusion for funding, the obligations of the beneficiaries in case of approval of the application for funding and the other terms of the Program will be described in detail in the Call of the Program (as well as in all the documents accompanying it). It is noted that during the screening and evaluation of the proposals, strict cross-checks of data will be carried out in order to verify the accuracy of the data contained in the investment proposals and to avoid fraud against the EU budget.

The evaluation of the applications for funding will be comparative, based on the criteria that will be defined in the Call of the Program.

Young Entrepreneurship (NSRF)

The Youth Entrepreneurship programme is co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) under the Operational Programme "Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (EPANEK)" of the NSRF 2014 - 2020 and with the application of the flexibility clause for funding interventions that fall within the scope of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The aim of the action is to support the development of healthy start-ups that will be directly linked to the creation of new jobs. For this reason, the programme aims to create micro and small, viable enterprises with an emphasis on innovative projects as well as on boosting employment.

Who it concerns

Potential beneficiaries of the action for the establishment of a new business are natural persons born before 1.1.1991 or associations thereof, who:

• are unemployed registered in the unemployment registers of the OAED(employment service) at the time of submission of the application or
• are engaged in an occupational activity and are not in an employment relationship.

In the case of the formation of a partnership, all partners must meet these conditions.

Budget

Within the framework of the program, projects with a total investment budget (subsidized budget) up to € 60,000.00 are supported.

The aid rate for investment proposals is set at 100% of the total investment budget.

It is possible to advance up to 40% of the corresponding Public Expenditure against an equal amount of a letter of guarantee, from a bank or other public financial institution established in Greece.

The funding is provided by the Greek State and by the European Union and in particular by the European Social Fund (ESF) using the flexibility clause for the financing of interventions falling within the scope of ERDF aid.

The budget for the public expenditure of the action amounts to 120 million € and will be divided into two (2) cycles (1^st cycle 2015: 40% and 2^nd cycle 2016: 60%).

Amount of subsidy

This programme of the 1^st cycle is funded with a total amount of 48 million € (Public Expenditure) and is distributed to the regions of the country as follows:

REGIONS	W/A (N/A) €
Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, Central Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Western Greece	28.960.000
Western Macedonia, Ionian Islands, Peloponnese, North Aegean, Crete	8.520.000
Attica	7.360.000
Central Greece	1.840.000
Southern Aegean Sea	1.320.000
TOTAL	48.000.000

Subsidy. Expenses

Indicative categories of eligible costs for the two-year aid period are:

• the necessary professional production equipment up to 40% of the total project budget (excluding the cost of the SRM),
• the operating cost of the activity (rents of business premises, insurance contributions, expenses of third parties such as PPC, OTE, EYDAP, natural gas, mobile business telephony),
• hosting costs in incubators for the first 2 years of operation (provision of secretarial and administrative support, use of equipment, specialized consulting services - market analysis, legal and accounting issues, development of a business plan, human resources issues, specialized education / training services, networking actions to support business teams, coordination and evaluation of implementation, etc.),
• the costs of promotion and networking,
• wage labour costs (in the case of hiring an employee) up to one annual work unit (SRM),
• general equipment (offices, living rooms, etc.),
• accessibility interventions for people with disabilities,
• third-party fees.

It is noted that the companies that will be subsidized for their production equipment must be maintained for at least three (3) years from the completion of the business plan.

Dates

The start of eligibility of expenditure is defined as the date of submission of the application for funding. Please note that this announcement is a Pre-publication.

Supporting documents for the NSRF program

For their inclusion in the program, potential beneficiaries should submit for evaluation their business plan based on the procedure that will be defined in the Call of the Program.

The conditions of participation, the required supporting documents, the way of submitting the proposals, the procedure for examining and evaluating the proposals, their inclusion for funding, the obligations of the beneficiaries in case of approval of the grant application and the other terms of the Program will be described in detail in the Call of the Program (as well as in all the documents accompanying it).

The evaluation of the business plans will be comparative, based on the criteria that will be defined in the Call of the Program.

It is noted that during the screening and evaluation of the proposals, strict cross-checks of data will be carried out in order to verify the accuracy of the data contained in the investment proposals and to avoid fraud against the EU budget.

It is noted that a mechanism will be created to monitor the progress of start-ups in order to further support the most dynamic ones with the use of financial tools.

Upgrading micro & small existing businesses by developing their capabilities in new markets

The Programme Upgrading of micro & small existing enterprises by developing their capacities in new markets is part of the Operational Programme "Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship, Innovation (EPANEK)" of the NSRF 2014 - 2020 and its main objective is to upgrade the level of business organization and operation of SMEs in the eight (8) strategic sectors of the country, in order for them to exploit their competitive advantages, improving their position in national and international markets.

The strategic priority areas are:

• Agri-food / Food Industry,
• Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs),
• Materials / Construction,
• Supply Chain,
• Energy
• Environment
• Information and Communication Technologies ICT,
• Health.

Who it concerns

The Programme may submit a proposal to: Existing small and micro enterprises, as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, operating exclusively in the eight (8) strategic priority areas of EPANEK (see above).

Any business established by 31/12/2013 is defined as existing.

Excluded are activities not supported by the ERDF (EC. 1301/2013, article 3 par.2) and the De minimis Regulation (EC.1407/2013, article 1), as well as activities related to catering, retail trade and tourism.

The basic conditions for the participation of companies submitting an investment proposal are the following:

• operate in Greece and make an investment in a specific region.
• operate exclusively in one of the following forms: enterprises of corporate / commercial character (Société Anonyme, Limited Liability Company, General Partnership or Limited Partnership and P.C.) and sole proprietorships.
• not be bankrupt, being wound up or being administered by the courts,

Budget

The program is funded with the total amount of € 130,000,000 (Public Expenditure) and will be implemented through two (2) call cycles (1^st cycle 2015: 40% and 2^nd cycle 2016: 60%).

Investment proposals can have an investment budget (subsidized budget) from € 15,000 to € 200,000, while the aid rate is set at a maximum of 40% with the possibility of an increase of 10 points in case of recruitment of new staff and only after the certification of achievement of this goal.

Amount of subsidy

This programme of the 1^st cycle is funded with a total amount of 52 million € (Public Expenditure) and is distributed to the regions of the country as follows:

REGIONS	PUBLIC EXPENDITURE (in €)
Eastern Macedonia & Thrace, Central Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Western Greece	32.560.000
Western Macedonia, Ionian Islands, Peloponnese, North Aegean, Crete	4.800.000
Attica	11.200.000
Central Greece	2.000.000
Southern Aegean Sea	1.440.000
TOTALS	52.000.000

The public expenditure of the programme is co-financed by the Greek State and the European Union and in particular by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with the application of the flexibility clause for the financing of interventions falling within the scope of ESF assistance.

Subsidy. Expenses

The eligible cost categories that will receive a grant under this Pre-publication will be defined in the Call of the Programme. Indicative categories of eligible costs for the two-year aid period are:

• the modernization and qualitative upgrading of building and other infrastructure,
• the simplification/automation of operational and production activities through the modernization of equipment and the introduction and/or increase of the use of ICT,
• the redesign and certification of business functions and products through organizational innovation techniques, restructuring actions, product / service redefinition with the use of Design methodologies,
  • the acquisition of know-how for new products and services through participation in exhibitions, conferences, etc.,
  • relocation to existing industrial areas, business parks and technology parks,
  • third-party fees.

It is noted that the wage costs of existing or new staff who will be employed in this project are also eligible, with the application of the flexibility clause.

Dates

The start of eligibility of expenditure is defined as the date of submission of the application for funding. Please note that this announcement is a Pre-publication.

Supporting documents for the NSRF program

Funding from this Programme requires the submission for evaluation of a business plan based on the procedure to be defined in the Programme's Call.

The detailed conditions of participation, the required supporting documents, the way of submitting the proposals, the procedure for examining and evaluating the proposals, the evaluation criteria, the obligations of the beneficiaries in case of approval of the application for support and the other terms of the Program will be described in detail in the Call of the Program (as well as in all the documents accompanying it). It is noted that during the screening and evaluation of the proposals, strict cross-checks of data will be carried out in order to verify the accuracy of the data contained in the investment proposals and to avoid fraud against the EU budget. The evaluation of the funding applications will be comparative, based on the criteria that will be defined in the Call of the Programme.

Support of Tourism SMEs for their modernization and the qualitative upgrade of the services provided (NSRF)

The Program Support of Tourism SMEs for their modernization and the qualitative upgrade of the services provided is funded by the Operational Programme "Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (EPANEK)" of the NSRF 2014 - 2020, and is part of Investment Priority 3c: "Supporting the creation and expansion of advanced capabilities for the development of products and services".

The main objective of the program is to strengthen existing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises of Tourism, which is a strategic area of intervention of the REIT, for their modernization, their qualitative upgrade and the enrichment of the products and services provided, in order to improve their position in the domestic and international tourism market.

Who is concerned the NSRF action

Existing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, active exclusively in Tourism, a strategic priority sector of EPANEK, and employing on average at least one (1) SRM of paid employment over the last three years, may submit a proposal to the Programme.

An existing business is defined as any business established by 31/12/2013.

Eligible nace code

The eligible categories of tourism business activities (SMRs), which will receive a grant under the Action, will be defined in the Call of the Program.

Program budget

The Program is funded with the total amount of € 50,000,000 (Public Expenditure) and will be implemented with two (2) call cycles (1^st cycle 2015: 40% and 2^nd cycle 2016: 60%). Within the framework of the program they are supported - according to no. EU 1407/2013 Regulation (De Minimis) - projects with a total investment budget (subsidized budget) from € 15,000 to € 150,000

The aid rate is set at a maximum of 40% of the eligible costs of the investment project. In the case of recruitment of new staff, the grant rate shall be increased by 10 points only after certification of the achievement of this objective.

It is possible to pay an advance payment of up to 40% of the corresponding Public Expenditure against an equal amount of a letter of guarantee from a bank or other financial institution established in one of the EU Member States.

Amount of subsidy NSRF

This programme of the 1^st cycle is funded with a total amount of 20 million € (Public Expenditure) and is distributed to the regions of the country as follows:

REGIONS	PUBLIC EXPENDITURE (in €)
Eastern Macedonia & Thrace, Central Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Western Greece	8.216.000
Western Macedonia, Ionian Islands, Peloponnese, North Aegean, Crete	6.584.000
Attica	2.800.000
Central Greece	800.000
Southern Aegean Sea	1.600.000
TOTALS	20.000.000

The Public Expenditure of the Programme is co-financed by the Greek State and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with the application of the flexibility clause for the financing of interventions falling within the scope of ESF assistance.

Eligible expenditure

The eligible categories of costs that will receive a grant under this Pre-publication will be defined in the Call of the Programme. Indicative categories of eligible costs for the two-year aid period are:

• the modernization and qualitative upgrading of building and other infrastructure,
• energy/water saving interventions,
• interventions to enrich the offered product with new services (expansion to alternative forms, interventions for people with disabilities, etc.),
• certifications of infrastructure and services,
• the promotion - promotion of businesses in target markets,
• third-party fees.

It is noted that the wage costs of existing or new staff who will be employed in this project are also eligible, with the application of the flexibility clause in the ERDF for the financing of ESF interventions.

Dates

The start of eligibility of expenditure is defined as the date of submission of the application for funding. Please note that this announcement is a Pre-publication.

Supporting documents for the NSRF program

Funding from this Programme requires the submission for evaluation of a business plan based on the procedure to be defined in the Programme's Call.

The conditions of participation, the required supporting documents, the way of submitting the proposals, the eligible categories of costs that will receive a grant, the procedure for examining and evaluating the proposals, their inclusion for funding, the obligations of the beneficiaries in case of approval of the grant application and the other terms of the Program will be described in detail in the Call of the Program (as well as in all the documents accompanying it). It is noted that during the screening and evaluation of the proposals, strict cross-checks of data will be carried out in order to verify the accuracy of the data contained in the investment proposals and to avoid fraud against the EU budget.

The evaluation of the applications for funding will be comparative, based on the criteria that will be defined in the Call of the Program