Investment support for increasing the competitiveness of rural entrepreneurs for the period 2023–2027

Acquisition of tangible or intangible assets

Construction of a building at the applicant's permanent place of business in a rural area

The applicant's ability for sustainable development, which evaluates changes in the applicant's sales revenue, profit, net profitability, value added per employee, number of jobs, and average salary – 50 percent of the first evaluation criterion's score

The wage level of new jobs created, which evaluates the planned wage level of new jobs created within the project compared to the average wage level of the respective county published by Statistics Estonia for the period immediately preceding the application and the planned wage level of employees hired as a result of the project – 50 percent of the first evaluation criterion's score

Realism of the business plan and financial forecast, which evaluates how justified the costs and revenues are in the business plan and financial forecast – 30 percent of the second evaluation criterion's score

Relevance of planned activities, which evaluates how the activities contribute to the creation of new jobs and how the costs presented in the budget are in line with market prices – 25 percent of the second evaluation criterion's score

Feasibility of plans, which evaluates how appropriately the activities are planned and how realistic it is to implement the project within the deadline according to the schedule – 25 percent of the second evaluation criterion's score

Economic justification of the project, which evaluates how the applicant has determined the project's profitability, how appropriate the profitability calculation is, and the expected payback period – 20 percent of the second evaluation criterion's score

Competence of personnel, which evaluates how the professional knowledge and work experience of managers and specialists, as well as the manager's previous management experience, contribute to the implementation of the project and the achievement of expected results, and the manager's previous experience in creating sustainable jobs – 50 percent of the third evaluation criterion's score

Applicant's financial capability, which evaluates the applicant's sales revenue, net profitability, solvency, liquidity, debt ratio, credit rating, and changes in these indicators based on the annual reports and financial forecasts submitted, as well as the applicant's ability to cover the costs associated with implementing the project – 30 percent of the third evaluation criterion's score

Availability of resources necessary for project implementation, which evaluates how the applicant's infrastructure, production tools, and personnel contribute to achieving the expected results of the project at the applicant's permanent place of business in a rural area – 20 percent of the third evaluation criterion's score

Impact of the project on balanced regional development, which evaluates how the project contributes to job creation in areas farther from major centers and whether the project is implemented in a city, a settlement adjacent to a city, or a more remote settlement not adjacent to a city – 20 percent of the fourth evaluation criterion's score

Relevance of the project to a regionally significant area, which evaluates whether the project is implemented in at least one region mentioned in the 'Regional Development Action Plan 2023' as facing regional development challenges, such as Ida-Viru County or South-East Estonia – 20 percent of the fourth evaluation criterion's score

Relevance of the project to the adoption of new technology for the applicant, which evaluates how novel the technology is for the applicant and the economic impact of adopting the new technology on the company, measured in euros based on the applicant's calculations – 20 percent of the fourth evaluation criterion's score

Relevance of the project to the adoption of an IT solution in the company, which evaluates the project's connection to digitalization in the company and the economic impact of adopting the IT solution on the company's financial indicators, measured in euros based on the applicant's calculations – 20 percent of the fourth evaluation criterion's score

Relevance of the project to improving the applicant's resource efficiency, which evaluates how the project contributes to achieving environmentally friendly and climate-neutral goals and the expected resource savings in the company, measured in euros, based on the applicant's calculations – 20 percent of the fourth evaluation criterion's score.

The minimum requirement for evaluation criteria is that: the overall score of the application is at least 2.50; the application has received a score of at least 2.00 for each evaluation criterion set out in paragraphs 3–5; the application has received a score greater than 0.00 for the fourth evaluation criterion.

Production of alcoholic beverages

Production of tobacco products

Organization of gambling

The grant recipient must submit interim and final reports on project progress

The application is submitted electronically via the E-support environment

Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis until the budget is exhausted

Excerpt from the Commercial Register

Detailed project budget

Confirmation of funding sources