SMEs Growth Romania Highlights. Anne Lise Rognlidalen Programme Director Innovation Norway 24 May 2018

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1 SMEs Growth Romania Highlights Anne Lise Rognlidalen Programme Director Innovation Norway 24 May 2018

2 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROGRAMME GENERAL

3 BASIC INFORMATION Programme title SMEs Growth Romania Overall objective Increased value creation and sustainable growth Bilateral: Strengthen bilateral relations between Romania and the Donor States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) by stimulating and developing longterm business cooperation Programme grant EUR 45 mill. Area(s) of support Innovative technologies, processes and services Sustainable business development Greening of existing businesses and processes Development and implementation of innovative products and services Main target group SMEs private sector

4 FOCUS AREAS Green Industry Innovation Same approach as the previous RO 17 Green Industry Innovation Programme Romania: Blue Growth Innovative solutions based on resources from sea, coast, river and lakes Information and Communication Technology (ICT) High potential for business development through digitalisation, automation and innovation

5 PROGRAMME SPECIFIC Minimum 50 % of funding to Green Industry Innovation area 75% of the funding aimed to be allocated to SMEs (large private enterprises not excluded) NGOs eligible for funding under the Small Grant Scheme Bilateral partnerships, offering added value, are very much encouraged

6 PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION All 8 Development Regions in Romania are eligible for funding Grant rate: in line with the provisions of the applicable State Aid Regulations (General Block Exemption Regulation GBER) Selection of projects open calls and competition as follows: Individual Grant Scheme (three components): Green Industry Innovation Blue Growth Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Small Grant Schemes Green Industry Innovation/ Blue Growth/ ICT Initiatives for business growth in start ups Initiatives for development of business skills (SMEs, clusters etc.)

7 ELIGIBLE PROMOTERS AND PARTNERS Eligible Project Promoters Individual Project Scheme: private enterprises, established as legal persons in Romania Small Grant Schemes: SMEs and NGOs, including clusters, business organizations etc., constituted as legal persons in Romania Eligible Project Partners Any public or private entity, commercial or non commercial, as well as nongovernmental organizations established as a legal person in one of the Donor States or in Romania

8 BILATERAL ACTIVITIES Fund for Bilateral Relations Travel Support facility relaunched available budget: EUR 50,000 facilitate establishment of Donor Project Partnerships Opportunities for business networking, access to new expertise, transfer of knowledge, experience sharing etc.

9 1 ST CALL OF THE PROGRAMME SPECIFIC

10 Focus areas: Green Industry Innovation, Blue Growth and ICT Expected outcome: increased competitiveness for Romanian enterprises within the three focus area Total available amount in this call: EUR 21,083,334 Green Industry Innovation indicative budget: EUR 9,708,334 Blue Growth indicative budget: EUR 6,525,000 ICT indicative budget: EUR 4,850,000 Deadline for submission of applications: 1 November 2018

11 Individual Project Scheme Eligible Project Promoters SMEs and large enterprises with no more than 25% public ownership, registered as legal persons in Romania At least 3 years of operation at the date of the deadline (in some cases 1 year) main activities are closely related to the activities for which an application is made Eligible Partners any private or public entity, commercial or noncommercial, registered as legal person in one of the Donor States or Romania main activity is closely linked to the expertise in which its contribution is proposed

12 Small Grant Scheme Eligible Project Promoters SMEs and NGOs, registered as legal persons in Romania At least 3 fiscal years of operation at the date of the deadline (in some cases 1 year) main activities are closely related to the activities for which an application is made Eligible Partners any private or public entity, commercial or noncommercial, registered as legal person in one of the Donor States or in Romania main activity is closely linked to the activities in which its contribution is proposed

13 Minimum and maximum grant amounts Individual Project Scheme Minimum amount of grant applied for: EUR 200,000 Maximum amount of grant applied for: EUR 2,000,000 Small Grants Scheme Minimum amount of grant applied for: EUR 50,000 Maximum amount of grant applied for: EUR 200,000

14 Eligible activities (1) Focus area: Green Industry Innovation Development, implementation and investment in innovative environmental friendly technologies Development of green products and services Development and implementation of greener production processes Training, awareness raising etc. as secondary activities

15 Eligible activities (2) Focus area: Blue Growth Business development, new solutions and investment in: Blue biotechnology, seabed mining Coastal and maritime tourism Maritime supra structures, maritime transport Blue energy etc. Training, awareness raising etc. as secondary activities

16 Eligible activities (3) Focus area: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Development and application of ICT solutions for industrial processes or other business operations Development of products or services for digitalisation of all economic sectors (games excluded) Training, awareness raising etc. as secondary activities

17 Advice for Applicants & Partners 1. Be prepared know as much as possible about the programme, the market, and business opportunities 2. Get to know your future partner well before you sign a Partnership Agreement. You can apply for travel support 3. Make sure you have the necessary resources (financial, technical, people, time) required to take the project to a successful completion 4. Have a responsible approach towards principles of good business practice 5. Consider presenting an innovative project involving development and demonstration of new solutions, processes and products 6. Make sure that the project will contribute to profitable business development

18 Timeline Activity Launching of the Programme / When 24 May st Call for proposals Deadline for submission of project applications 1 November 2018 Regional Information events 25, 29, 30 May , 7, 11, 12 June 2018 Bilateral activities/partner search (Travel Support) Relaunched 24 May 2018 Until funds are depleted 2 nd Call for proposals January rd Call for proposals Small Grant Schemes (soft measures) 2019

19 THANK YOU! Contact e mail for the SMEs Growth Romania Programme: RO.Innovation@innovationnorway.no

20 Online Application Form Steps towards project submission Mihai Stefanescu Senior Programme Officer 25 May 2018

21 Photo credits: Thinkstock

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38 In practice: Partner search function: on the website tab Find a partner Partner agreement: the template is on the website Project assessment: allow 4 to 6 month for assessment and clarifications Contracting should take place in May 2019 Project start June 2019: plan for approximate 2 years (maximum 3) of implementation Project timeline: final dated for all activities 30 April 2022 EUR is to be used as currency (use round amounts when budgeting) English is the official use language Advance payment may be provided on request Reimbursement principle (each payment is audited) Payments are directly form Innovation Norway Oslo to project bank account in Romania. No intermediary body in Romania. Photo credits: Bogdan Croitoru

39 Social Media Facebook: fb.me/innovationnorwayromania YouTube: Innovation Norway Romania LinkedIn: romania E mail: RO.Innovation@innovationnorway.no Photo credits: Bogdan Croitoru

40 MULTUMESC! Contact e mail for the SMEs Growth Romania Programme: RO.Innovation@innovationnorway.no