Support to grow
The SME Growth Grant supports SMEs that want to achieve a strategic growth leap through transformation, innovation or internationalization. The grant serves to acquire the missing knowledge needed to successfully realize that growth trajectory.
To acquire this additional expertise or know-how, the choice can be made to purchase external advice or to embed the knowledge in the company by hiring a strategic profile. A combination of both is also possible.
To qualify for the grant, there must be a "tipping point. You must be able to demonstrate that the growth trajectory gives a substantial and new twist to current business operations and has a major impact on multiple business processes.
For external advice, a 50% intervention in the service provider's invoice can be obtained up to a maximum of 25,000 euros.
For the recruitment of a strategic profile, the support measure provides an intervention of 50% in the gross annual salary of the first year of work, again with a maximum of 25,000 euros.
If both hatches are used at the same time, the subsidy can amount to 50,000 euros.
The SME growth grant can be applied for every twelve months.
Also in corona times
Companies affected by the corona crisis can also apply for the SME growth subsidy. After all, exploring new markets or reassessing the supply chain as a result of the coronavirus can be accepted as a 'tipping point'.
The move to e-commerce is another such tipping point. Companies are now relying heavily on webshops, social media and digital advertisements to compensate for the decline in sales at physical locations. Obtaining external advice on online marketing strategy or recruiting a digital marketeer, for example, are therefore eligible costs for which intervention can be requested via the SME growth subsidy.
Moreover, since the introduction of the corona measures, almost twice as many applications for SME growth subsidies have been submitted as in the same period last year, VLAIO recently reported in a press release : in the period between March 16 and April 27, 94 applications were submitted, compared to 53 in 2019. Flemish Minister of Economy Hilde Crevits stated in response to this : "Flanders is a leader in the field of innovation and development of new products. In these harsh times, you see that our companies are looking particularly creatively for products and tools that help us in this new life."
Has your company also come up with a creative solution to cope with the corona crisis and has it set a new course for a bit as a result, feel free to contact our subsidy expert. There is a good chance that your company too can qualify for the SME growth subsidy.
If you would like more information about this, please contact us at 051 26 82 68 or via email at info@titeca.be.