CFPs: Cascading Grants for Internationalization in Blue Economy

The SMEs should focus on the adaption of processes and technologies for a greener, more digital and more resilient blue economy. Specifically, this call aims to contribute to tackle the multiple challenges identified by MedBAN in the Mediterranean Sea Basin.

The MedBAN consortium has done an extensive analysis on mapping the Mediterranean Blue Economy Ecosystem, with a special focus in the countries of the consortium (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece).

The MedBan project set up a ‘Resilience preparedness Business Continuity Plan identifying challenges facing the Mediterranean Blue Economy (common to most of the regions). Is expected that beneficiary’s activities contribute to tackle these challenges and that the financial support provided to them enables them the get expert services that enhance their contribution to overcome the identified challenges.

Challenges

• Aquaculture:
  • Change farming practices and improve Cultivation techniques.
  • Raise awareness and improve social acceptability (consumer awareness).
  • Improve aquaculture farms monitoring.
• Sustainable Fisheries:
  • Decrease ship pollutions.
  • Fight illegal fishing and control access to fishing areas.
  • Sustainable value chain.
• Sustainable Tourism:
  • Restore coastal environment to improve attractively.
  • Develop new Sustainable offers.
  • Support the Sector transformation regarding climate change impact.
• Harbours:
  • Smart ports.
  • Green Ports.
  • Resilient Ports.
  • Project development.
• Marine Renewable Energies:
  • Production optimization to reduce the LCOE.
  • Maintenance operations.
  • Synergies with other sectors.

Funding Information

• Each selected SME will be awarded for a maximum of one service and with a maximum grant of 8.965 EUR.
• Only external costs related to paying the suppliers for the service provision are eligible (SMEs’ staff and travel costs are not eligible).
• SMEs are free to cover the difference using their own resources.
• The MedBAN grant amount will be disbursed to the awarded beneficiary SMEs in the following installments:
  • A prefinancing of 45% of the total financial support amount after the grant agreement signature. This payment will be done in a lump sum.
  • A final payment of 55% of the total financial support at the end of the service provision against presentation of the invoice and a post-service assessment questionnaire. The final payment reimbursement of this actual costs will be calculated as follows:
    • The difference between the actual costs invoiced (limited by the amount presented in the supplier quotation by the SME at the proposal stage) and the prefinancing payment.
• An interim implementation checkpoint, not related to payments, will be done at the mid-term period previewed for the implementation of the provision of services (November 2024). Additionally, a final report will be done after the end of the implementation stage (January 2025).

Ineligible Funding

• Costs exceeding the “Maximum budget per entity” will not be covered by the MedBAN consortium through financial support.
  •  sustainability of results after the end of the EU funding.

Eligibility Criteria 

• In order to be eligible for funding in the “Internationalization” call for proposals, the applicants must:
  • Be private entities which are considered SMEs, according to the definition of the EU recommendation 2003/361. In case of doubt, they are requested to do an SME self- assessment.
  • The eligible applicants should have their headquarters in one of the EU countries, except France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
  • The applicant must be a single SME. Consortium applications are not eligible.
  • The applications must be submitted in English.
  • The applicants must submit all the mandatory documents listed.
  • Independently of its position in the value-chain (e.g. producer, technology and equipment infrastructure provider, end-user, support service provider), applicant SMEs need to be active.
• in at least one of the following sectors:
  • Sustainable acquaculture.
  • Sustainable fisheries.
  • Sustainable tourism.
  • Harbours.
  • Marine renewable energies.

Selection Criteria

• The award criteria to select the entities which will receive financial support are the following:
  • Viability, the SME’s activity and the results from the service have real potential market and the value proposition has a real competitive advantage.
  • Feasibility, the SME’s has a full team with a CEO and the timing is right to introduce internationalization in the SME’s business.
  • Scalability, the proposal is as global as possible it is scalable and with clear possibilities of multiplying the investments.
  • Coherence, the proposal is consistent and clearly tackles the MedBAN challenge(s) it lists in the application.
  • Impact, the proposal sets appropriate, ambitious, objectively verifiable and achievable SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) performance indicators to measure its outcomes and expected impact, with relation to the MedBAN challenges selected appropriate, effective and innovative dissemination strategy for ensuring sustainability and long-term impact it presents.

For more information, visit Eurocluster.