Digiboost RLP – The guide to SME funding and 15.000€

The Digiboost RLP will provide funding of up to 15.000 € and supports the digitalization of SMEs. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) has launched the new project called Digiboost together with the Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz (ISB). In this blog post, we give you a guide on how to secure your Digiboost RLP funding.

What is Digiboost RLP?

Digiboost RLP is a new project from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz (ISB). The project was implemented as Germany`s SMEs are falling behind when it comes to digitalization. The Digiboost will provide funding of up to 15,000 € for small and medium-sized businesses in need of digitalization.

The purpose of the grant is to promote projects for the digitalization of products, services, and service processes. In this context, the opening up of new markets and customer groups and the development of new business models are also to be promoted. Eligible for funding in this context are comprehensive digitization projects carried out by a contractor.

Why should you use Digiboost

To stay competitive today, many companies need help with digitalization. Still, they cannot afford it themselves because they lack sufficient resources for investments or are looking for free funding to complement their investment.

Digiboost is an excellent program for any SME in RLP to get ahead of the competition and execute their digitalization strategy. Projects with an eligible investment volume of 4,000 € or more will be considered.

Funding is provided in a non-repayable grant (max. 15,000 € ) as part of project funding. Within the De-minimis program, a maximum limit of 200,000 € within three tax years is subsitzed..

In addition, the Digiboost programme can be combined in advance with the BITT funding. This funding subsidises technology-oriented consulting with up to € 7,500.

Who can apply for the funding

Funding is available for small and medium-sized enterprises that:

• up to and including 100 employees,
• have either achieved an annual turnover of no more than 50 million € in the year preceding the application or have an annual balance sheet total of no more than 43 million €, and
• have eligibility for funding under the de minimis regulation.

Support is provided for:

• Digitization of production and processes, e. g. CRM: Customer relationship management software, ERP systems (industry software), Controlling.
• Digitization of products and services, e. g. Digital Check-In, Digital Guest Folder, Networked Kiosks, Digital Pricing, Electronic Price Labels
• Digitization of business models and distribution channels, e. g. Individually programmed online shops, an app for customer interaction, individualized programming of new functionalities for apps, websites, and products.

What is NOT supported?

• General/stand-alone consulting
• exclusively implementation of legal regulations and not direct operational process improvement
• pure replacement purchases,
• financing costs, value-added tax
• Personnel expenses and own contributions by the company
• Standard software and standard hardware (incl. software as a service, cloud services)
• Basic ICT equipment/classical telephony,
• Leasing or rental of hardware, software or software licenses
• Expenditure on standard websites or webshops or their optimization without direct/immediate integration into the performance process
• Online marketing measures and pure search engine optimization (SEO)

———————— Tip ————————

It pays to be quick. The funding pot is currently funded with 2 million € and is awarded according to the order of submission.

Who can apply for the funding

Funding is available for small and medium-sized enterprises that:

• up to and including 100 employees,
• have either achieved an annual turnover of no more than 50 million € in the year preceding the application or have an annual balance sheet total of no more than 43 million €, and
• have eligibility for funding under the de minimis regulation.

Support is provided for:

• Digitization of production and processes, e. g. CRM: Customer relationship management software, ERP systems (industry software), Controlling.
• Digitization of products and services, e. g. Digital Check-In, Digital Guest Folder, Networked Kiosks, Digital Pricing, Electronic Price Labels
• Digitization of business models and distribution channels, e. g. Individually programmed online shops, an app for customer interaction, individualized programming of new functionalities for apps, websites, and products.

What is NOT supported?

• General/stand-alone consulting
• exclusively implementation of legal regulations and not direct operational process improvement
• pure replacement purchases,
• financing costs, value-added tax
• Personnel expenses and own contributions by the company
• Standard software and standard hardware (incl. software as a service, cloud services)
• Basic ICT equipment/classical telephony,
• Leasing or rental of hardware, software or software licenses
• Expenditure on standard websites or webshops or their optimization without direct/immediate integration into the performance process
• Online marketing measures and pure search engine optimization (SEO)

———————— Tip ————————

It pays to be quick. The funding pot is currently funded with 2 million € and is awarded according to the order of submission.

The application process

1. From 1 March, the chambers will offer advice in web seminars on the new funding program Digiboost RLP. There, interested parties will receive essential and detailed information on funding criteria and the application procedure. Participation is a prerequisite for applying. Dates can be found on the websites of the chamber here.

2. After participating in a web seminar, applications can be submitted to the Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz (ISB) via the digital customer portal.

3. Application review

4. Issuance of the notice of grant by the ISB

5. Implementation of the project (no start before issuance of the funding decision!)

6. Submission of proof of use (max. 15 months after notification of grant)

7. Payment of the grant

To be entered in the application or documents to be submitted

• Legal form and date of foundation of the enterprise
• Tax number of the enterprise (and tax ID for sole traders)
• Sector code of the enterprise
• Address and bank details
• Information on the calculation of the number of employees (number of employees with respective weekly working hours)
• Address of the business location in Rhineland-Palatinate to be specified as the main project location
• Description of the digitization project in max. 250 characters (brief content-related classification and description of the intended effect of the measure, realistically estimated target figures for the investments, implementation timeframe)
• Confirmation of participation in an information offer of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Chamber of Crafts, or Chamber of Agriculture as a file or scan.
• If de minimis aid has been received by the enterprise since 1.1.2019: Annex de minimis with information on any de minimis-relevant prior subsidies in the current calendar year and the previous two years (as of 01.01.2019).

Further steps

Are you looking for a reliable partner for your digitalization and to accelerate your future growth?

Then click here to book an appointment and set up a call right away!

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