Deadline: 14 November 2025
The Standards and Awards for SMEs scheme, managed by the Measures and Support Division under the Ministry responsible for Union Funds in Malta, provides financial aid to help small and medium-sized enterprises obtain recognized standards or awards between 2025 and 2026, with the goal of enhancing competitiveness, sustainability, and innovation through certified advisory services.
Focus Areas/Objectives/Priorities/Themes: This Grant Scheme falls under Policy Objective 1 ‘A more competitive and smarter Europe by promoting innovative and smart economic transformation and regional ICT connectivity’ of SFC2021 Programme 2021–2027 ‘Towards a smarter, well connected and resilient economy, a greener environment and an integrated society’, and addresses the following Policy Objective and Specific Objective: PO1: Promoting entrepreneurship, in particular by facilitating the economic exploitation of new ideas and fostering the creation of new firms, including through business incubators. A more competitive and smarter Europe by promoting innovative and smart economic transformation and regional ICT connectivity. RSO1.3. Enhancing sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs and job creation in SMEs, including by productive investments.
The Standards & Awards for SMEs scheme is designed to assist enterprises in preparing for and achieving recognized standards or awards by part-financing advisory services provided by approved external service providers. Through this support, enterprises can strengthen alignment with best practices, improve internal management systems, and promote a culture of excellence and innovation within their operations.
The scheme operates on a rolling-call basis and remains open until 31 December 2026, subject to available funding. With a total budget allocation of €500,000, grants are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible applicants. The maximum grant value is set at €15,000 per undertaking, with the possibility of increasing to €20,000 for those pursuing multiple certifications through a single service provider in one application. Aid intensity varies by enterprise size and age, offering up to 60% for micro and small startups less than five years old, and 50% for other eligible SMEs.
Eligible applicants include micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises that have been trading for at least one year. The funded advisory services must lead to achieving a recognized organizational or management system standard or award, such as those improving quality, sustainability, or governance. Product-specific regulatory certifications or training-related accreditations are excluded from this scheme.
Applications must be submitted online and accompanied by required documentation, including declarations, financial statements, compliance certificates, and proof of private match financing. Approved projects are implemented over six, twelve, or eighteen months, and all operations must be completed and reimbursed by 30 June 2029.
Beneficiaries must ensure compliance with national and EU regulations, maintain proper documentation for audits, and uphold equal opportunity and non-discrimination principles. The programme operates under the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, and the Just Transition Fund framework, following Commission Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 and subsequent amendments.
For more information, visit FONDI.eu.
