Grants to businesses of groups in need - New support scheme approved, 16 million lek fund
The State Aid Commission has approved the authorization of the state aid “Support for new incentives for groups in need”, published in the Official Gazette. The state aid support scheme is for the most vulnerable individuals and groups. The fund approved by the Tirana Municipality budget is a total of 16 million lek, where each beneficiary of the scheme will be supported in the amount of 800,000 lek.
The aim of the scheme is to stimulate innovative ideas and entrepreneurship of groups in need, by providing them with opportunities for integration into the business market and sustainable economic development. The scheme supports the creation of opportunities for business development by individuals and vulnerable groups.
All MSMEs are eligible, undergoing a three-stage process, where in the first stage, eligible candidates apply with their basic business idea, through the application form. This is followed by the second stage, where accepted applicants participate in training on general business skills and business plan development, and only then do they submit business plans. These plans will compete for grant support. As well as the third stage, where the announced winners will sign a 12-month contract to receive grant funding and advisory support.
The project will be implemented in the territory of the Municipality of Tirana, where the aid provider and the authority responsible for implementing the measure is the Municipality of Tirana. The scheme will be implemented during 2025 and targets micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which will benefit from an economic advantage in the form of access to finance. The advantage will be granted to the winning MSMEs as a result of the selection procedure of the winning applications, which will carry out economic activity in the production of goods or in the provision of services that are traded internationally. Meanwhile, the aid will be provided for a financial period of three years.
According to the decision, except in cases provided for by law, any aid granted from state sources that distorts competition by giving an advantage to one or more certain undertakings or to the production of certain products is prohibited. Each beneficiary of the aid must sign the “De-minimis” aid declaration and submit a copy of the declaration to the Municipality of Tirana. The total value of the aid granted to an undertaking must not exceed 14 million lekë, according to the decision.
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