182.5 million euros are on the table for innovative SMEs, and applications close on 30 September
The Portugal 2030 Productive Innovation call carries 182.5 million euros, funds up to 60% with no repayment, and takes applications until 30 September 2026. Who qualifies and how to apply.
Apply / Learn moreThere are 182.5 million euros available for small and medium companies investing in innovative production in Portugal, and applications close at 5pm on 30 September 2026. The support is a grant rather than a loan, and it can reach 60% of eligible investment, meaning more than half the bill may never leave the company.
What is the Productive Innovation call?
It is a Portugal 2030 competition, reference MPR-2026-6, published on 15 June under the business competitiveness incentive system. It covers low-density territories and other territories, and targets innovative operations producing tradable, internationally sellable goods and services with high added value and strong domestic content.
Translated out of funding dialect: the money is for companies making things that sell abroad and that were not being made this way here before. It is not for covering running costs or swapping one machine for an identical one.
Who can apply?
Small and medium enterprises, with eligible investment starting at 300,000 euros. That floor tells you what kind of project this is for: a new production line, a new plant, a jump in capacity the company could not finance alone. Below that threshold you need different instruments, and it is worth reading through the other Portugal 2030 supports open to businesses before deciding which door to knock on.
Who assesses your file depends on the sector: IAPMEI handles everything except tourism, and Turismo de Portugal handles tourism. Submission goes through the Balcão dos Fundos, the single portal for European funding applications in Portugal.
How much does it pay, and until when?
Up to 60% of eligible investment as a straight grant, with the exact rate depending on company size, project location and type of expense. Low-density territories sit on the favourable side of the table, which in practice means the same factory attracts more support built inland than on the coastal strip.
The deadline is 5pm on 30 September 2026. It sounds far away. It is not. An application like this needs a technical description, an investment plan, supplier quotes, certified accounts, licensing and a business case that survives questions. Three weeks will not do it, and files started in September read like files started in September.
Is it worth trying?
If the project already existed in somebody’s head, yes. These calls are competitive and scored rather than first-come first-served, and projects assembled purely to chase a deadline tend to fall away. But a 60% non-repayable grant is the kind of condition that changes the arithmetic of an investment, and it is not available most of the year.
The full text of the call, with eligibility criteria and the scoring grid, is published by IAPMEI and on the Portugal 2030 portal. Read the call before hiring anyone to write it for you: half the questions answer themselves in the first ten pages.
Quick questions
What is the application deadline?
5pm on 30 September 2026, through the Balcão dos Fundos portal.
What is the minimum investment?
300,000 euros of eligible investment. Below that, the project does not fit this call.
Does the money have to be paid back?
No. It is a grant of up to 60% of eligible investment, conditional on meeting the targets agreed in the contract. Miss those and repayment follows.
My company is in tourism. Can I still apply?
Yes, but your file is assessed by Turismo de Portugal rather than IAPMEI.
Illustrative · Photo: Cemrecan Yurtman / Pexels
