Regional Government prepares new line of support for qualified and creative entrepreneurship, announces Bastos e Silva - Communication

Secretaria Regional das Finanças, Planeamento e Administração Pública

The Regional Secretary for Finance, Planning and Public Administration, Joaquim Bastos e Silva, announced today that the Regional Government will create a new line of support for qualified and creative entrepreneurship. It is expected to have an impact on the creation of innovative and proactive companies as well as on the diversification and renewal of the business fabric.

The new line of support will be made operational through an "innovative incentive system" to be developed by the Regional Government under the "Azores 2030" Operational Programme. "In addition to supporting productive investment under the ERDF, it will also support training and hiring under the ESF," he explained. 

Joaquim Bastos e Silva spoke at the opening session of the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Azores Business Incubator Network (RIEA) in Ponta Delgada.

“We will support projects that promote the creation of businesses by young entrepreneurs in a wide range of activities, with an investment of up to EUR 300, with the incentive in the form of a non-refundable grant,” explained the governor.

"We will support projects that promote the creation of companies by young entrepreneurs in a wide range of activities, with a maximum investment of 300 thousand Euros. The incentive taking the form of a non-refundable grant," explained the government official.

According to the Regional Secretary for Finance, “innovation is a key target for the creation of skilled jobs, the internationalisation of the Azorean economy and the growth of exports of goods and services.”

Joaquim Bastos e Silva stressed the contribution of business incubators in testing and developing business ideas, under similar conditions to those of the market. In this regard, he reiterated the Regional Government's commitment to stimulating RIEA as a forum for cooperation between projects and coordination of public policies.

RIEA comprises 14 Technology-based Incubators in close coordination with the Azores Scientific and Technological System, as well as Local Base and Business Centre Incubators. They ensure support to 183 business projects, of which 114 are in incubation and 69 in pre-incubation stages, which evidences the undeniable regional environment conducive to entrepreneurship and the emergence of new companies based on innovation.

The meeting also presented the broad guidelines of the Regional Entrepreneurship Competition 2022, whose applications run from May 1 to June 15.