Pyme Digital 2024 call for proposals for the provision of support services for digital transformation, and for the granting of financial aid to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Purpose

This call aims to promote the participation of SMEs within the jurisdiction of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce in the Digital SME Program, by providing them with the support services detailed in the “Budget and amount of aid” section of this call.

The main objective of the Digital SME Program is the digital transformation of SMEs, helping them integrate key competitive digital tools into their strategy and maximize the opportunities that digitalization offers to reactivate their business activity.

Eligibility Requirements

The requirements to be eligible for the Program are:

1. Be a small or medium-sized enterprise, according to the SME definition set out 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 validly incorporated at the time of the application and carrying out an economic activity are considered enterprises. Excluded from this call are joint ownerships, civil societies, temporary business unions (UTE), associations, foundations, and, in general, nonprofit entities. Also excluded are self-employed individuals who are classified as company partners or collaborating self-employed.
2. Be registered in the Census of the Economic Activities Tax (IAE) for the activity subject to subsidy before January 1, 2022.
3. Regardless of the IAE headings under which they are registered, companies operating in the primary production of agricultural products listed in Annex I of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as well as in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products, as defined in Article 2.1 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 of December 13, 2023, are excluded.
4. Have a minimum annual turnover of €100,000 in the last fiscal year.
5. Have their registered office and/or production center located in one of the municipalities within the jurisdiction of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, according to census data. If a company has multiple sites or production centers, the recipient center and direct beneficiary must be located in one of the mentioned municipalities.
6. Be up to date with tax and Social Security obligations.
7. Not be subject to any of the prohibitions mentioned in Article 13 of Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Law on Subsidies, or applicable regulations of the relevant Autonomous Community.
8. Not be considered a company in difficulty 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 established in the EU guidelines on state aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty (2014/C149/01).
9. Comply with the de minimis rule, as stated in Commission Regulation (EU) No. 2023/2831 of December 13, 2023, regarding 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), under which the total amount of de minimis aid granted to a “single undertaking” shall not exceed €300,000 over any three-year period. The definition of “single undertaking” in Article 2.2 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 of December 13, 2023, must be taken into account, where linked enterprises are considered a single undertaking for de minimis aid purposes.
10. Companies that have already undergone the diagnostic phase in the 2023 TICCámaras program call may not participate in Phase I of Diagnosis.
11. Companies that were beneficiaries in the aforementioned 2023 call may not receive aid in the Implementation Phase. SMEs that may directly apply to the Implementation Phase must:
    1. Have documented their participation in the Diagnostic Phase of the 2023 TICCámaras program call.

    2. Prove their participation in a similar ICT advisory program for SMEs in the previous year, carried out by regional promotional agencies, national, regional or local public bodies, or Chambers of Commerce, provided they meet the requirements in the annex to this call.

        

Budget and Amount of Aid

The maximum execution budget of the Program under this call is €221,946.

SUPPORT SERVICES FOR ICT IMPLEMENTATION IN SMES

The budget associated with this call for support services for ICT implementation in SMEs is €34,696.

The cost of these services will be fully pre-financed by the Chamber of Commerce, meaning that the beneficiary SME will not need to make any financial contribution.

FINANCIAL AID FOR ICT IMPLEMENTATION IN SMES

The available budget in this call for the ICT implementation phase is €187,250, with a total amount of FINANCIAL AID to SMEs of €74,900, targeting an estimated participation of 25 companies.

Therefore, the eligible cost associated with implementing action plans will vary in each case, with a maximum of €7,490 per company (€7,000 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 40% of the eligible cost, resulting in a maximum aid amount of €2,996 per company, provided that the investment is justified under the established terms and deadlines.

The funding for the eligible amount for implementation is provided 40% by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union under the ERDF Spain Multi-Regional Operational Program 2021–2027, and 60% by the beneficiary company.

Application Submission

Applications and the required accompanying documentation may only be submitted through the online form enabled for this purpose at the Electronic Office https://sede.camara.es/sede/barcelona, under the terms provided in this call.

Application Deadline

From May 22, 2024, until May 29 at 12:00 p.m.