€7 million sponsorship scheme: businesses in focus

Businesses in Cyprus are showing interest in a €7 million sponsorship initiative. On February 20, 2024, Stella Michaelidou, the State Aid Control Officer, formally announced the decision on an aid measure titled "Grant Scheme for the Creation, Modernisation and Digital Upgrading of Units for the Processing and/or Marketing of Agricultural Products - 2nd call."

This aid measure will be financed by the European Union (EU) Recovery and Resilience Mechanism and is a part of the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan (CRP) for the years 2021 to 2026. The Ministry of Energy, Trade, and Industry is in charge of overseeing and carrying out the measure.

With a total budget of €7 million set out for this effort, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) both new and established are to get financial assistance. These SMEs have to meet the requirements outlined in the Commission of the European Communities' Recommendation No. 2003/361/EC and dated 06/05/2003. They must either be established in Cyprus or in the process of establishing themselves there, and they must invest in the project's eligible sectors and activities. However, areas not under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus due to the Turkish invasion are excluded from this eligibility.

This measure is set to be effective for the duration of 2024-2026. It was officially published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cyprus on February 23, 2024, and will come into effect upon the adoption of the decision by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus.