"Fostering Self-Employment Among Tertiary Education Graduates" Programme

11/2/2016

The Programme "Fostering Self-Employment Among Tertiary Education Graduates" is financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) in the framework of the Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Operational Programme (EPAnEK) of PA 2014–2020 and with the application of the flexibility clause for financing interventions that fall within the scope of aid under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Potential Beneficiaries
The Programme's potential beneficiaries are tertiary education graduates, who have been born before 1/1/1991, so as to start/ sustain a professional activity related to their field of specialization and organize their own independent professional premises.

Specifically:

• unemployed tertiary education graduates, who have been born before 1.1.1991, registered with OAED’s unemployment registry at the time of application submission;
  or
• natural persons who are tertiary education graduates, have been born before 1.1.1991 and pursue a professional activity related to their field of specialisation and are not in salaried work.

The professional activities that will be financed by the Programme are indicatively the following:

Doctor, dentist, vet, physiotherapist, biologist, psychologist, midwife, lawyer, architect, engineer, surveyor, chemist, agronomist, geologist, forester, oceanographer, designer, journalist, writer, interpreter, guide, translator, professor or teacher, sculptor or painter or cartoonist or engraver, actor, musician, dancer, choreographer, director, set designer, costume maker, decorator, economist, analyst, programmer, researcher or consultant, accountant or tax expert, actuary, sociologist and social worker, etc.

Activities not supported by the ERDF (ΕC. 1301/2013, article 3 par.2) and the De Minimis Regulation (ΕC. 1407/2013, article 1), as well as activities with respect to the restaurant sector are excluded. Retail trade is eligible only if it constitutes a complementary activity necessary for the service delivered (e.g. sale of medicines by a veterinary).

The eligible categories for business activities (Activity Code Numbers - KAD), which will be subsidised in the context of the Action are included in the Call for Proposals of the Programme.

The Programme's call will contain means test criteria for both categories of beneficiaries.

Participation Conditions
The beneficiaries who will receive aid for investment proposals must meet, cumulatively, the following:

• they should have graduated from tertiary education schools (Universities/Higher Technological Institutes) or their equivalents in Greece or abroad (recognised by the National Academic Recognition Information Centre - DOATAP);
• have been born before 1/1/1991;
• to operate or to already operate professionally in an activity related to their field of specialisation;
• every eligible natural person to participate in submitting a single investment proposal;
• their business activity should pertain to the eligible business activity categories, throughout the duration of the investment;
• not to have income from another business activity;
• the total amount of de minimis aid, including the aid from this Action, should not exceed the amount of €200,000 (or €100,000 for the transport sector) within a period of three years (current financial year and (2) previous financial years) prior to the date of proposal inclusion.

Project's Budget - Geographical Distribution
In the context of the programme, projects with a total investment budget (subsidised budget) from €5,000 up to €25,000 will be subsidised.

The rate of aid for the investment proposals is set at 100% of the total investment budget.

Up to 40% of the corresponding Public Expenditure can be paid in advance by providing a letter of guarantee for the same amount by a bank or other financial institution established in Greece.

The funding shall be provided by the Greek State and the European Union and specifically the European Social Fund (ESF). In order to finance the equipment expenses the ESF flexibility clause will be activated for financing interventions that fall within the aid scope of the ERDF.

The budget for the public expenditure of the action amounts to €50 million and will be allocated in two cycles (1st cycle: 65% and 2nd cycle: 35% of the action budget). The present programme of the 1st cycle is financed with the total amount of €32.5 million (Public Expenditure) and is allocated in the regions of the country as follows:

• Eastern Macedonia - Thrace, Central Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Western Greece: €19,500,000
• Western Macedonia, Ionian Islands, Peloponnese, Northern Aegean, Crete: €5,785,000
• Attica: €5,070,000
• Sterea Ellada: €1,261,000
• Southern Aegean: €884,000
• TOTAL: €32,500,000

Project Duration
The duration of the approved projects is set at twenty four (24) months from the date for the decision to include the investment plan.

Eligible Expenditure
The eligible expenditure categories which will be subsidised in the context of the present Pre-Announcement are included in detail in the Call for Proposals of the Programme. Indicative categories of eligible expenditure for the two year aid period are the following:

• The necessary professional productive equipment at a rate of up to 40% of the total budget of the plan (besides the cost of a new job);
• The operational cost of an activity (rent for professional premises, insurance contributions, third party services, such as electricity, telephony, water, natural gas, mobile professional telephony bills);
• Expenses for hosting the company at an incubator (provision of secretarial and administrative support, use of equipment, specialised advisory services - market analysis, legal and accounting issues, development of a business plan, human resources issues, specialised education / training services, networking actions for the support of business groups, co-ordination and evaluation of implementation, etc.);
• Expenses for promotional activities and networking;
• The cost of salaried work (in the event of hiring an employee) up to one annual working unit (AWU);
• General equipment (offices, seating, etc);
• Accessibility interventions for people with disabilities;
• Third party fees.

It should be noted that enterprises that will be subsidized for their productive equipment should be maintained for at least three (3) years from the completion of the business plan.

The beginning of expenditure eligibility is set as the financing application submission date.

Submission – Evaluation – Inclusion – Implementation
In order to be included in the programme, potential beneficiaries should submit their financing application for evaluation based on the procedure set out in the Programme’s Call for Proposals.

The conditions for participation, the documents required, the manner of proposal submission, the procedure for examining and evaluating proposals, their inclusion for financing, the obligations of beneficiaries in the event of approval of the financing application and the other terms of the Programme are described in detail in the Call for Proposals of the Programme (as well as in all the documents that accompany it). It should be noted that during the control and evaluation of the proposals, data will be cross-checked thoroughly so as to verify the accuracy of data contained in the investment proposals and prevent fraud against the EU budget.

The evaluation of the applications for financing will be comparative, based on criteria set out in the Call of the Programme.

Information - Publicity
The Call for Proposals (in greek) as well as all the documents of the Programme that accompany it, can be found here and also in the Special Managing Service EPAnEK website www.antagonistikotita.gr.

Contact e-mail: infoepan@mou.gr

Contact telephone number: 801 11 36300