​Small and medium-sized enterprises can receive up to €50,000 in grants​ 

The STAGE Financial Grant Programme has launched the second grant call for supporting EU climate and environmental strategic goals.  

Similarly to our previous call, STAGE has made ​€50,000​ in funding and hands-on advisory support available for enterprises to develop investment concepts on innovation and zero waste economy. 

Grants will be distributed in different funding stages and will be spent by companies to:    

• Prepare an investment project plan (modernization and technological innovation, automatization, digitalization, implementation of renewable energy or circular economy models, etc.);  
• Pay for additional services needed for the investment plan preparation (feasibility study, technology audit, data collection and analysis of carbon footprint assessment, prototyping, pilot testing and demonstration, business process adaptation, support for use of testing facilities, other specialized consulting and coaching services related to the preparation of the investment plan)  

STAGE is a unique support mechanism, co-funded by the European Commission, helping enterprises with sustainability reporting and investment readiness. 

The current call will stay open until 7 February 2024. Applicants from across the EU plus countries associated with Horizon Europe are eligible to apply.   

This grant will allow beneficiaries to act on their needs related to developing investment plans in support of their sustainable future.  

Applying for the funding is simple. Companies first need to register on the STAGE platform and then complete the first step – Initial Assessment – an easy-to-use tool that analyses an organization’s performance in different ESG aspects and its level of innovation. After that, companies need to go to the Application section of the platform and follow the instructions to participate. 

For the chosen beneficiaries, the offer includes dedicated advisory support, pushing a project idea one step closer to being matched with either private or public investors.   

Sustainability Advisors play a crucial role in this process, providing expert guidance to companies for developing their investment plans and these experts can also benefit from the current open call.  

Important: Funding should be spent on services provided only by Sustainability Advisors, who are part of the STAGE eco-system and are registered on the platform.  

For more information you can visit ​​The STAGE Financial grant scheme section: https://stagepartners.eu/financial-grants  

The STAGE project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.