Call for Applications: Neighbourhood Business Funding for Small Enterprises (Austria)

The focus of this funding is on new digital measures that make processes more efficient, investments such as construction measures, technical equipment and machinery, material costs, licences and concessions, services including external consulting costs, marketing measures and training employees in the new solutions by external service providers, and personnel costs.

Neighbourhood Business Funding offers financial support of up to 75,000 euros per project with a funding rate of 50 percent, provided the minimum project value is at least 20,000 euros. Funding is open to founders and small businesses with fewer than 50 employees located in Vienna, active in neighbourhood-focused sectors such as trades and crafts, retail, gastronomy, and the book and media trade. Eligible costs covered by the program include personnel expenses, consulting, marketing, material costs, licences, concessions, construction measures, as well as training and qualification measures linked to the adoption of new digital solutions and processes.

Applications can include a request for an upfront payment of up to 50 percent of the approved funding amount. The maximum project duration allowed under this opportunity is two years. A complete application requires an online funding application, an application confirmation, a de minimis declaration, the latest annual financial statements or an income statement, and a curriculum vitae of the project leader. Applications are evaluated by an independent jury, which selects the best projects several times a year in a competitive process.

The program also includes bonus incentives. A women’s bonus of 5,000 euros is granted if a qualified woman leads the project, and a startup bonus of 5,000 euros is available if the project involves the establishment of a new business.

For more information, visit Vienna Business Agency.