MEASURE FACT SHEET

Supports international prospecting projects intended to increase the international dimension of business carried out by the beneficiary enterprises, promoting direct contact with demand and the choice of tradable goods and services.

Beneficiaries

Micro, small and medium size enterprises (Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC).

Activity Sectors

Industry, Building Industry, Commerce, Tourism, Services and Transport within the following EAC:

Activity Sectors	Eligible EAC
Industry	10 to 37
Building Industry	45
Commerce	50 to 52 (except 5231)
Tourism	551, 552, 553, 554, 633, 711, 9232, 9233, 9234, 9261, 9262, 9272, 93041 and 93042
Services	72, 73, 7420, 7430, 9211, 01410, 02012 and 02020
Transport	602, 622, 631, 632 and 634

Eligibility Requirements

For the Promoter

• To be legally established;
• To satisfy the legal conditions required to carry out its activity, namely as regards licensing;
• To have fulfilled all obligations related to taxes and social security, and towards the incentive paying agencies;
• To have an organised accounting system, according to the National Accounting System;
• To have a balanced economic and financial situation;
• To have the technical and management capabilities required to implement the investment;
• To have fully implemented all projects previously supported under the present incentive scheme.

For the Project

• To encompass the valorisation of tradable goods and/or services;
• To be based on a duly reasoned action plan for the project implementation time period;
• To have a minimum eligible investment of €10.000;
• Not to include expenses incurred into before the application date, except for advances for down-payments related to the project, up to 50% of the cost of each purchase and disbursed up to less than one year before;
• To have a maximum life span of 18 months, beginning on the investment start-up date; in duly justified cases authorized by the Minister for Economic Affairs and Innovation, that may be extended for a further six months;
• To prove to have guaranteed the project's financing sources.

Eligible Expenses 

•  Expenses related to international promotion:
  • Leases;
  • Contracting of specialised services;
  • Travelling and lodging;
  • Purchase of specific information and documentation;
• Expenses related to prospecting and penetrating external markets*, namely:
  • Market prospecting;
  • Participation in international tenders;
  • Participation in international events taking place in external markets;
  • Promotion and direct contact with international demand;
• Expenses related to international marketing*, namely:
  • Design and preparation of promotion and information materials;
  • Design of international marketing programmes;
• Expenses resulting from the intervention of certified public accountants, related to asserting the financial implementation of the projects.

* The operational expenses of the enterprise relating to periodical or permanent activities are excluded.

Non-Eligible Expenses

• Purchasing of land-property, buildings or facilities;
• Purchasing of furniture and equipment;
• Purchasing of motor vehicles and other transport equipment;
• Purchasing of second-hand goods;
• Work for the enterprise itself;
• Wages of personnel belonging to the beneficiaries, daily allowances and attendance fees;
• Expenses related to financial operations, compensations and exchange losses, and all other purely financial expenses.

Selection Criteria

Projects will be selected on the basis of the valuation of the following criteria:

Criterion A – Project innovative characteristics and consistency, assessed according to the following factors:

• Consistent market approach through structured and complementary operations;
• Prior knowledge of target markets or development of market prospecting actions, within the scope of the project;
• Innovative characteristics of the initiatives included in the project.

Criterion B – Diversification and priority of target markets, assessed according to the following factors:

• Access to new markets;
• Access to non-traditional market segments;
• Entering priority or proximity markets.

Criterion C – Differentiation and positioning in the value chain, assessed according to the following factors:

• Self-development of new solutions or new products;
• Trademark and/or own collection, or fitting into sector or regional trademarks;
• Progression in the value chain.

Each criterion shall be accorded as follow:

Points	Valorisation
100	Criterion with valorisation in three factors
75	Criterion with valorisation in two factors
50	Criterion with valorisation in one factor
0	Criteria with no valued factor

The Final Score (FS) of the project shall be established according to the following formula:

 FS = 0,40 A + 0,30 B + 0,30 C

Projects with a positive score in one factor only shall not be deemed eligible.

Submission of Applications

Applications shall be sent via the Internet, through an electronic form, or delivered at one of the Investor Offices of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation.

The submission of applications shall be done by stages, the calendar and budgetary allocations being established by an Order from the Minister for Economy and Innovation.

Specific priority markets, thematic objectives, project eligibility and selection rules, and regional modulation zones may also be defined for each stage.  

Each promoter may submit one application only at each stage.

At the moment there are no application stages open for this Measure.

Bodies in Charge

ITP - Portuguese Institute for Tourism, for projects pertaining to the Tourism sector;

ICEP Portugal, for all other projects.

Geographical Area

Mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Regions.

This information does not dispense with consulting the legislation.

Updated on November 2006.