Financing up to 100% for unemployed people who open businesses
NSRF: Four new budget programs of 280 million euros for financing from 50% to 100% of unemployed people who want to open businesses or have already started them, as well as small tourism businesses, are being gradually announced after the elections.
In detail, the new actions are:
1. Strengthening liquidity and supporting employment
This is a program that will be announced immediately after the elections by the Ministry of Economy and the Greek Employment Agency. The total budget amounts to 60 million euros.
The estimated number of beneficiaries is 10,000 people/enterprises. The program will be addressed to Young Freelancers, formerly unemployed, who started a profession from 1/1/2014 onwards as well as to enterprises that made a net increase in employment after 1/1/2015 by hiring an unemployed person.
According to the plan, the action aims to cover retroactively for 2015 (with a maximum limit of 15,000 euros) the expenses of new freelancers (rent, fixed assets, insurance contributions, percentage of equipment) or to subsidize with 450 euros per month the new job created under the company's commitment to maintain this position for the corresponding months. The upgrading of the product of small tourism businesses is the main objective of the program
2. Strengthening Self-Employment of Higher Education Graduates
The aim is: to support higher education graduates, over 25 years of age, unemployed or self-employed professionals to pursue a professional activity related to their specialty and to boost employment by creating new jobs.
Potential beneficiaries of the action are tertiary education graduates, over 25 years of age, who at the time of submitting the application must be: unemployed registered in the OAED unemployment registers or natural persons exercising a professional activity, without having a salaried employment relationship, who will be or are professionally active as sole proprietorships, in an activity related to their specialty. The expenses subsidized by 100% range from 5,000 to 25,000 euros.
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, tour guide, translator, professor or teacher, artist, sculptor or painter or sketcher or engraver, actor, musician, dancer, choreographer, director, set designer, costume designer, decorator, economist, analyst, programmer, researcher or business consultant, accountant or tax specialist, actuary, sociologist and social worker, etc.
In particular, eligible expenses will concern:
- professional equipment
- operating costs (rents of business premises, insurance contributions, utility costs)
- advertising and networking expenses
- cost of hired labor (in case of hiring an employee)
- third party fees, general equipment.
The budget of the action is 50 million euros. It will be implemented in two cycles of 25 million euros (1st cycle in 2015 and 2nd cycle in 2016). The aim is to subsidize 2,800 graduates and create new jobs by those who hire.
The action schedule provides for:
Pre-publication of the announcement: September 2015
Competitive process for selecting the Intermediary Body that will run the action: October 2015
Announcement – Submission of proposals for the first round: December 2015- March 2016
First cycle enrollment and start of implementation: June 2016
Investment completion: within 24 months from start
3. Startup Entrepreneurship
The purpose of the action is to develop healthy start-up entrepreneurship that will be directly linked to the creation of new jobs. For this reason, the program aims to: Create very small and small, new, sustainable businesses with an emphasis on innovative projects, as well as to boost employment by hiring at least one person.
Beneficiaries are individuals over 25 years of age who, at the time of submitting the application: are unemployed registered in the OAED unemployment registers or are engaged in professional activity without having a salaried employment relationship. It is noted that income criteria will also be set in the program implementation guide. The expenses to be covered by 100% must be up to 50,000 euros.
The supported activities will concern the following Priority Sectors: Agri-Food, Energy, Cultural and Creative Industries*, Supply Chain, Environment, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Health, Medicines, Materials, Constructions.
*Cultural and creative industries or cultural and creative sectors (CCIs) include the publishing and printing industries, architecture and specialized design, television and radio, music and film production, performing and visual arts, advertising production, museums and libraries, photography and software production.
In particular, the following expenses are financed:
- production equipment,
- operating costs (rents of business premises, insurance contributions, utility costs)
- advertising and networking expenses
- cost of hired labor (in the case of hiring an employee)
- third party fees, general equipment
The budget of the action amounts to 120 million euros. It will be implemented in two cycles of 60 million euros (1st cycle in 2015 and 2nd cycle in 2016). 2500 new businesses will benefit and it is estimated that they will bring 4500 new jobs.
The time schedule of the action provides for:
Pre-publication of the announcement: September 2015
Competitive process for selecting an Intermediary Body: October 2015.
Announcement – Submission of proposals for the first round: December 2015- March 2016.
First cycle enrollment and start of implementation: June 2016.
Investment completion: 24 months from start.
4. Modernization of tourist units
Support for Tourism Enterprises for their modernization and the qualitative upgrading of the services provided. The purpose of the action is the modernization, qualitative upgrading and enrichment of the products and services provided by existing very small and small tourism enterprises, so that they can improve their position in the domestic and international tourism market. The expenses financed by 50% will range from 30,000 euros to 300,000 euros.
Small entrepreneurs can be subsidized for the following actions:
- Modernization and quality upgrade of building and other infrastructure
- Energy/water saving interventions
- Interventions to enrich the offered product with new services (expansion into alternative formats, interventions for people with disabilities, etc.)
- Infrastructure and service certifications
- Promotion – Promoting businesses in target markets
- Consultant Fees
- Salary costs of existing or new staff
The budget of the action is 50 million euros. It will be implemented in two cycles (25 million euros each). It is estimated that 600 to 700 small and very small tourism enterprises will benefit from the action (depending on the budgets of the approved Investment Plans).
The action schedule provides for:
Pre-publication of the announcement: September 2015
Competitive process for selecting an Intermediary Body: October 2015
Announcement – Submission of proposals for the first round: December 2015 – March 2016
First cycle enrollment and start of implementation: June 2016
Investment completion: 24 months from start.
Source: imerisia.gr
