Government launches 750 million euros in non-repayable aid for companies

The micro and small companies (MSMEs) that had losses of over 25% due to the pandemic can start now applying to apoiar.pt, the new government platform that will provide 750 million euros in non-repayable aid.

Apoiar.pt was announced by the Minister of Economy at the beginning of November, as part of the set of measures to help companies overcome the effects of the pandemic. It involves 750 million euros in aid for companies in the sectors most affected by the coronavirus crisis.

The calculation of the 25% drop in turnover should be based on the first nine months of the year compared with the same period last year. The incentive corresponds to 20% of the loss that the companies suffered and is calculated with the average of the fixed cost of a company as a percentage of its turnover, but with a certain limit.

Each micro enterprise (which employs less than ten people and whose annual turnover does not exceed two million euros) can receive up to 7,500 euros and each small enterprise up to 40,000 euros, a limit applied to those employing up to 50 people and whose annual turnover does not exceed ten million euros.

In order to benefit from this aid, companies must have positive equity capital at the end of last year and their situation regularized with the tax authorities, social security and mutual guarantee system. This is a requirement that is already common both for companies that have used EU funds and for those that use credit lines with state guarantees.

But there are more constraints: companies cannot fire or distribute funds to their partners. As this program was financed by EU funds it was necessary to notify the European Commission and only after obtaining the green light was it possible to open the tenders. The government expects to make the first payments in the first half of December.