Under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) a set of investments and reforms has been defined that should contribute to the following dimensions:

• resilience,
• climatetransition and
• digitaltransition.

As far as the presentexposition is concerned, we highlight Component 16 – “Companies 4.0”, integrated in the Digital Transition Dimension, which aims at reinforcing companies ‘ digitalization in order to catch up with the ongoing digitaltransition process.

This incentive system is aimed at any economic sector (respecting the sectorial restrictions provided for in the RGIC), throughout the entire national territory, including the Autonomous Regions. Suchsupportis preferably granted in the form of anon-refundable incentive, but may take otherforms.

The concrete investment measuresare enshrined in article 5 of the regulation, among which we highlight the following:

a) National Network of Test Beds – creationThe creation of a national network of test beds by supporting infrastructures that aim to create the necessary conditions for companies for the development and testing of new products and servicesthe, and to speed up the transition processDigital communication, either via a space or a computer.the physical orvirtual;

b) Digital Commerce Accelerators – stimulating the digitaltransition of micro, small, and medium-sized companies with commercial activity, through thecreation of 25 local orregional proximity accelerators, as well as a system of financial incentives for the digitalization of business models;

c) Internationalization via E-Commerce – investment in the development of supportservicesfor the internationalization processes of SMEs, namely in awareness, training and consulting;

d) Business Model Support for Digital Transition (Coaching 4.0) – fostering theintegration of technology in companies, supporting the development of organizationalprocesses and competencies that foster the digitaltransformation of the organizations‘ business model;

e) Voucher for Startups – New Green and Digital Products – support for startups, in the seeding phase, aiming at the development of new products andserviceswith a strong digital and green component;

g) Digital Innovation Hubs – support for innovation hubsThe digital version is selected competitively under the scope of the Order no. 12046/2020, of December 11th, for integrationo in the national network of Innovation HubsDigital ConnectionThe European Digital Innovation Hubs Network, created under the Digital Europe Program Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of April 29, aimed at providingA set of services is available to the public.transition supportdigital information of companies and government entitiesPublic Administration, with a focus on artificial intelligence, computationHigh Performance and Cybersecurity

h) Cybersecurity, Privacy, Usability and Sustainability Certification Seals – investment in four newcertification platforms in cybersecurity, privacy, usability and sustainability.

Potential beneficiary companies are required to possess, orbe able to possess, thetechnical, physical, and financial means, as well as thehuman resources necessary for the development of theoperation. It must also demonstrate in the application process that it has financial solvency,not fitting into the concept of a company in difficulty, orsubject to arecoveryinjunction, even if pending.

The eligible expenses and the respective framework of aid per investment measureare exhaustive, and are listed in annex i of the regulation. In the same vein, it regulates Article 10 the expenses which do notare not in all In this case, eligible, we highlight, for example, the acquisitionIt’s a good idea to use in-use goods, o Value added tax (recoverable, ornotThis includes the purchase of real estate and land, leasing and rights ofuse ofspaces, as well as current advertising.

As far as theselection criteria for the applications are concerned, theseare also exhaustive andare listed in article 15 of the Regulation:

a) Relevance of the project in relation to the objectives ofthe measure;

b)Implementation capacity of the beneficiaries;

c) Impact of the project on business competitiveness.

In order to guarantee the final execution of the project, thefinal beneficiaries are restricted to a series of obligations.

On February 10th, 2023, the firstalteration to the above mentioned regulation was published in Diário da República, increasing the deadline for IAPMEI todecide on project financing from 40 to 90 working days. Thecandidates must be notified by the same entity within 5 days from the date of thedecision.