Purpose
This call aims to promote the participation of SMEs in the province of Alicante in the Digital SME Program, by providing them with the support services detailed in section 6 “Budget and amount of aid” of this call.
The Program aims at the systematic incorporation of ICT into the daily activity of SMEs, integrating key competitive tools into their strategy and maximizing the opportunities offered to improve their productivity and competitiveness. To this end, it will encourage the adoption of methodologies that allow ICT to be systematically integrated into their regular business activity.
The Program is implemented through the following direct support actions:
Assisted ICT Diagnosis to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the company's level of digitalization, allowing for an understanding of its competitiveness level within its economic and market environment, as well as identifying its technological needs (aligned with its strategic and operational goals). This diagnosis will determine a series of recommendations for the implementation of solutions under the three action lines included in the Program:
- Use of ICT to improve competitiveness: productivity tools, ERP, CRM... with a clear orientation towards cloud computing.
- E-commerce.
- Digital Marketing: SEO, SEM, email marketing, web analytics, social media, online reputation, mobile applications, or any other tool, best practice, or technology trend on the market.
Financial aid for the implementation of the identified solutions and improvements, as detailed in the Personalized Implementation Plan. This Plan will include the characteristics of the projects to be implemented, the providers freely chosen by the company to carry them out, and the committed financing. For each project, the eligible concepts and costs will be defined, as well as the deadlines for execution and justification of the investment made.
Eligibility Requirements
- Be a small or medium-sized enterprise, as defined in Annex 1 of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 http://www.boe.es/doue/2014/187/L00001-00078.pdf. Individuals and legal entities that are validly incorporated at the time of submitting the application and that carry out an economic activity are considered enterprises. Excluded from this call are joint ownerships and civil partnerships, as well as temporary business unions (UTE), associations, foundations, and, in general, nonprofit entities. Also excluded are self-employed individuals considered corporate partners or collaborating self-employed.
- Be registered in the Census of the Economic Activities Tax (IAE) for the activity subject to subsidy before January 1, 2022.
- Have a minimum annual turnover of 100,000 euros in the last fiscal year.
- Have their registered office and/or production center in one of the municipalities within the jurisdiction of the Huelva Chamber of Commerce, according to the census data.
- Be up to date with tax and Social Security obligations.
- Not be subject to any of the prohibitions referred to in Article 13 of Law 38/2003, of 17 November, General Law on Subsidies, or the applicable regulations of the corresponding Autonomous Community.
- Not be considered a company in crisis according to Article 2, section 18, of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014, which declares certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market under Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty, and in accordance with the definition set out in the EU guidelines on state aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty (2014/C149/01).
- Comply with the de minimis rule, according to Commission Regulation (EU) No. 2023/2831 of 13.12.2023, concerning the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid (OJ L of 15.12.2023), which states that the total amount of de minimis aid granted to a “single undertaking” shall not exceed 300,000 euros over the previous three years.
- Companies that carried out this diagnostic in the 2023 TICCámaras program call may not participate in Phase I of the Diagnosis.
- Companies that were beneficiaries in the aforementioned 2023 call may not receive aid in the Implementation Phase.
- SMEs may directly apply to the Implementation Phase of the aid if they:
- Have documented their prior participation in the Diagnostic Phase of the 2023 TICCámaras program call.
- Prove they participated in the previous year in a similar advisory program for ICT adoption in SMEs, led by regional promotional bodies, national, regional, or local public organizations, or Chambers of Commerce, provided they meet the requirements of the annex to this call.
- Comply with all the requirements established in this call.
Budget and Amount of Aid
The maximum execution budget of the Program under this call is €177,556.80, within the framework of the "Multi-regional Operational Program of Spain ERDF 2021–2027."
SUPPORT SERVICES FOR ICT IMPLEMENTATION IN SMES
The budget associated with this call for ICT implementation support services in SMEs is €27,756.80. These services are free of charge for companies and are carried out as part of the public-administrative functions entrusted to the Chambers of Commerce under Basic Law 4/2014 to strengthen the business sector. Specifically, the services provided by Chamber ICT Advisors include:
- Assisted ICT Diagnosis
- Implementation Follow-up
These services will be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Chamber of Commerce, and the Huelva Provincial Council. The cost of these services will be fully pre-financed by the Chamber of Commerce, meaning no financial contribution is required from the beneficiary SME.
FINANCIAL AID FOR ICT IMPLEMENTATION IN SMES
The budget available in this call for the ICT implementation phase is €149,800. Therefore, the total amount of FINANCIAL AID for SMEs is €127,330, with an estimated participation of 20 companies. The maximum eligible budget per company for this phase is €7,000 in direct costs (excluding VAT), although projects with higher costs are not excluded. Additionally, indirect costs will be financed at a fixed rate, applying 7% of the eligible direct costs, according to Article 54(a) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.
Therefore, the eligible cost associated with the implementation of action plans will vary in each case, with a maximum of €7,490.00 per company (€7,000.00 in direct costs + 7% in associated indirect costs), which will be fully pre-financed by the beneficiary company. The maximum aid percentage per company will be 85% of the indicated eligible cost, so the maximum amount of aid per company will be €6,366.50, provided that the investment is justified within the established terms and deadlines.
Application Submission
Applicants may only submit their application and supporting documentation through the online form available at the Electronic Office https://sede.camara.es/sede/huelva/, under the terms set out in this call.
Application Deadline
The deadline for submitting applications through the mentioned Electronic Office will begin at 9:00 a.m. on June 5, 2024, and end at 2:00 p.m. on June 19, 2024.