SIMEST

Beneficiaries

Companies with their registered office and operational headquarters in Italy that meet one of the following requirements are eligible for this fund:

• 10% of turnover from exports
• 3% of turnover from exports (only for energy-intensive companies or those with an energy audit)
• 10% of turnover from sales to Italian customers who export at least 3% of their turnover.

Note: The energy audit may also be carried out after the application has been approved. It must be submitted within 3 months of approval.

Eligible expense

Expenses for the Digital Transition, including in Italy: from machinery to PCs, from office software to advanced ERP systems, as well as infrastructure such as websites, cloud/servers and connectivity, training, and consultancy on the digitalisation of internal production, administrative and commercial processes.

Expenditure on Ecological Transition, including in Italy: environmental efficiency of all kinds, including energy, thermal, resource, waste, circular economy, etc.; also consultancy, e.g. for ESG.

Expenditure on capital strengthening (max 90% of the amount): investments in tangible, intangible and financial fixed assets, such as industrial buildings, patents, capital increases in subsidiaries, etc.

Eligible costs also include professional consultancy fees incurred in connection with the management of funding applications, as well as for environmental certifications and energy audits.

Energia Europa’s technological solutions, such as EP-X, PQ-LINE and PQ-GUARD, fall equally under both digital transition costs and ecological transition costs, making them fully eligible for the SIMEST fund.

Financing

Covers 100% of the requirement, combining a subsidised loan with a grant, using a modular approach.

NON-REPAYABLE GRANT

10%, provided at least one of the following criteria is met:

• SMEs in the south
  
• Innovative SME or Innovative Start-up
  
• SME run by women or young people
  
• SMEs with sustainability certifications
  
• SMEs with exports accounting for at least 20% of turnover
  
• ESG-compliant company (including GI)
  
• Company with interests in the Western Balkans or the USA
  
• Business affected by weather events (floods in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, Hurricane Harry)

20%, if the company is energy-intensive or willing to carry out an energy audit

30%, if the company has suffered repercussions from the Gulf War (drop in turnover or increase in energy costs)

SUBSIDISED LOAN

Term: 6 or 8 years, in both cases with a 2-year grace period. Only companies with interests in the US, or those that have experienced a 10% drop in turnover or a 10% increase in electricity costs in 2026, are eligible for the 8-year term;

Rate: 10% (0.319% per annum), 50% (1.595% per annum) or 80% (2.55% per annum) of the EU reference rate; the rate is chosen based on the company’s ‘De Minimis’ ceiling;

Guarantees: various options to qualify for the exemption (e.g. in the case of an Energy Audit);

Cost coverage: from a minimum of 70% to a maximum of 100%.

N.B.: The sum of the loan and the non-repayable grant may not, under any circumstances, exceed the following limits:

• minimum investment €10,000.00
• maximum investment:
  • €500,000.00 for micro-enterprises
  • €2,500,000.00 for SMEs and innovative SMEs
  • €5,000,000.00 for other enterprises
    
• The investment may be made within 2 years of the fund’s approval.
• Resources must be reserved by the end of December 2026
• Disbursement of the fund: 50% (including the non-repayable grant portion) upon approval of the application and the remaining 50% upon final settlement (including the non-repayable grant portion)

The measure is granted under the De Minimis Regulation and may be combined with other forms of aid.