Background information

One of the priorities in Estonia is to support companies in development and innovation. This is especially important in the context of COVID-19 pandemic in order to ensure business continuity and recovery. Enterprise Estonia support companies from the European Regional Fund in the framework of COVID-19 pandemic response fund by offering targeted grants.

Content of measure

Four application rounds have been opened between July 2021 and November 2021.

1. Applied research programme goal is to increase income for companies through scientific and product development. Grant is provided to develop innovative technology, processes, products or services; experiment with new materials; or learn about technological feasibility via research and/or implementation. The total budget of the measure is €23 million. 25-80% of the project costs are supported depending on the specific project, the support per project is between €100,000 and €2 million, for feasibility study the maximum support is €20,000.
2. Support for product development in the tourism sector is aimed at restoring the Estonian tourism and its export to pre-COVID-19 crisis level and increasing the Estonian tourism sector competitiveness. The products must create travel motivation and comply with the principles of sustainability, inclusiveness and digital and green transitions. The budget is €13.7 million. The maximum grant is 20-70% of the project costs and can be between €20,000 and €200,000.
3. Support for digital solutions in the tourism sector aims at supporting the digitalisation of the tourism sector to make work processes more efficient and/or make it easier for visitors to access information and make reservations for visits. The total budget is €4 million. The grant is up to 55% of the project costs and between €20,000 and €550,000.
4. Product development support aims to support investments in new competitive products and services with the goal of increasing export sales revenue. It is not a new measure, but it has been slightly amended in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The total budget of the measure is €15 million. The maximum grant is 25-45% of the eligible costs (+15% if the project is related to COVID-19 or other antivirus related scientific research) and up to €500,000 per project.

Use of measure

Information is available for support for product development in the tourism sector. Altogether 91 projects received the support in the total amount of €14 million.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Public support service providers	European Funds National Recovery and Resilience Facility

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

No involvement.

Views and reactions

No views available.

Sources

• 23 December 2021: Rakendusuuringute programm (Applied research programme) (www.eas.ee)
• 23 December 2021: Tootearenduse toetus (Product development support) (www.eas.ee)
• 23 December 2021: Turismisektori tootearenduse toetus (Product development support in tourism sector) (www.eas.ee)
• 23 December 2021: Turismisektori kesksete digilahenduste toetus (Support for digitalisation in tourism sector) (www.eas.ee)
• 08 September 2022: COVID-19 pandeemiale reageerimise raames rahastatavad toetused (Grants funded as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic) (eas.ee)
• 30 September 2022: Riik investeerib 14 miljonit eurot 91 uude turismitootesse üle Eesti (The state invests 14 million euros in 91 new tourism products across Estonia) (eas.ee)