Object
The purpose of this call is 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 to systematically incorporate ICT into the regular activities of SMEs, integrating key competitive tools into their strategy and maximizing the opportunities they offer to improve productivity and competitiveness. To this end, it will promote the adoption of methodologies by SMEs that allow for the systematic incorporation of ICT into their regular business activities.
The Program is implemented through the following direct support actions:
ICT Assisted Diagnosis in conducting a thorough analysis of the company's level of digitalization, which allows understanding of the scheme and situation of its competitiveness level in its economic and market environment, as well as identifying its technological needs (aligned with its strategic and operational needs). Through this diagnosis, a series of recommendations will be determined for the implementation of solutions belonging to the three lines of action contemplated by the Program:
- Use of ICT to improve competitiveness: productivity tools, ERP, CRM... with a clear cloud computing orientation.
- E-commerce.
- Digital Marketing: SEO, SEM, email marketing, web analytics, social media, online reputation, mobile applications, or any other tool, good practice, or technological trend that appears in the market.
Economic aid for the implementation of the solutions and improvements detected will be detailed in the Personalized Implementation Plan. This Plan will outline the characteristics of the projects to be implemented, the suppliers freely selected by the company to undertake them, and the committed financing. For each project, the eligible concepts and costs, as well as the execution and investment justification deadlines, will be defined.
Beneficiary Requirements
- Being a small and medium-sized enterprise, according to the definition of SME 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. Enterprises are considered natural and legal persons validly constituted at the time of the application submission and engaged in economic activity. Communities of goods, civil societies, temporary unions of companies (UTE), associations, foundations, and non-profit entities in general, are excluded from this call. Additionally, self-employed persons who are considered as company partners or collaborating self-employed are excluded.
- Registered in the Census of the Economic Activities Tax in the activity subject to the subsidy before January 1, 2022.
- Having a minimum turnover of 100,000 euros in the last fiscal year.
- Having their registered office and/or production center in one of the municipalities within the jurisdiction of the Chamber of Commerce of Huelva, according to census data.
- Being up to date with tax obligations and Social Security contributions.
- Not being subject to any of the prohibitions referred to in Article 13 of Law 38/2003, of November 17, General of Subsidies, or applicable regulations of the corresponding Autonomous Community.
- Not being 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 in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty, and according to the definition established in the Community Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial enterprises in difficulty (2014/C149/01).
- Complying with the de minimis rule, as provided in Commission Regulation (EU) No 2023/2831 of 13.12.2023, relating to the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid (DO L of 15.12.2023), under which the total amount of de minimis aid granted to a “single enterprise” shall not exceed 300,000 euros over the three fiscal years before the grant.
- Companies that have conducted this diagnosis in the 2023 TICCámaras program call cannot participate in the Phase I Diagnosis.
- Companies that were beneficiaries in the 2023 call cannot benefit from the Implementation Aid Phase.
- SMEs may directly opt for the Implementation Aid Phase if:
a) They have documented their prior participation in the Diagnosis Phase of the 2023 TICCámaras program call.
b) They prove participation in a similar advisory program for the incorporation of ICT in SMEs by Autonomous Community Promotion bodies, national, regional, or local public bodies, or Chambers of Commerce in the previous fiscal year, provided they meet the requirements of the annex to this call.
12. Complying with all the requirements stipulated in this call.
Budget and Amount of Aid
The maximum execution budget of the Program under this call is 177,556.80 euros, within the framework of the "Multi-regional Operational Program of Spain FEDER 2021-2027”.
SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ICT IN SMES
The budget associated with this call for support services for the implementation of ICT in SMEs is 27,756.80 Euros. These services are free for the companies; they are carried out within the framework of the public administrative functions entrusted to the Chambers of Commerce in Basic Law 4/2014, to strengthen the business fabric. Specifically, the services provided by the Technological Advisors of the Chambers are:
- ICT Assisted Diagnosis
- Implementation Monitoring
These services will be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), the Chamber of Commerce, and the Excellent Provincial Council of Huelva. The cost of these services will be fully pre-financed by the Chamber of Commerce, with no cost to the beneficiary SME.
ECONOMIC AID FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ICT IN SMES
The budget available in this call for the implementation phase of ICT is 149,800 Euros, of which the total amount of ECONOMIC AID for SMEs is 127,330 Euros, with an estimated participation of 20 companies. The maximum eligible budget per company for this phase of aid is 7,000 euros in direct costs (excluding VAT), although implementations of higher amounts may also be addressed. Additionally, indirect costs of companies will be financed at a fixed rate, applying the percentage of 7% of 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, setting a maximum of 7,490.00 euros per company (7,000.00 Euros in direct costs + 7% in associated indirect costs), which will be fully pre-financed by the recipient company. The maximum percentage of aid to be received by each company will be 85% of the indicated eligible cost, so the maximum amount of aid per company will be 6,366.50 euros, provided that such investment is justified in the terms and deadlines established.
Submission of Applications
Interested parties may only submit their application and accompanying documentation through the form provided for this purpose at the electronic headquarters https://sede.camara.es/sede/huelva/, by the terms outlined in this call.
Application Submission Period
The period for submitting applications at the aforementioned headquarters will begin at 09:00 on June 5, 2024, and will end at 14:00 on June 19, 2024.
For more information, visit: https://camarahuelva.com/pymedigital/
