SMP – Greening SMEs in the proximity and social economy ecosystem through transnational co-operation – 2023

Objectives

• To green the processes and activities of SMEs in the social economy by boosting the development of sustainable practices through capacity building, knowledge transfer and transnational cooperation

Priorities

• Priority 1: supporting transnational and cross-sectorial cooperation, and exchange of good practices to enable sustainable growth of social economy SMEs and entrepreneurs regarding the green transition
• Priority 2: boosting the capacities and skills of staff and management within social economy SMEs and entrepreneurs to green their operations and develop sustainable products and services
• Priority 3: encouraging the uptake of sustainable alternatives and innovative solutions through capacity building, incubation and acceleration, advisory services and coaching
• Priority 4: fostering cooperation between social economy entities on the one hand, and mainstream businesses, academia and public authorities on the other

Among financed actions

• Organisation of transnational capacity building activities (e.g. targeted online and on-site trainings, peer-learning sessions and awareness raising activities) bringing together different partners and stakeholders
• Organisation of coaching, mentoring (e.g. job shadowing, social intrapreneurship programs) and business support activities (e.g. incubation and scaling-up support) targeting social economy SMEs and entrepreneurs
• Delivering capacity building through advisory services to support social economy SMEs and entrepreneurs in identifying and implementing sustainable changes (e.g. mapping funding opportunities, support to obtain certification on labels and develop local green markets, advice on how to gather data and communicate about sustainable performance)

Additional information

• This call for proposals is a open call for proposals
• Initial duration of the action: between 24 and 36 months

Eligibility

• Be legal entities (public or private bodies)
• Be established in one of the EU Member States or countries associated to the Single Market Programme
• A consortium with
  • at least six independent entities from at least three different eligible countries
  • at least one social economy intermediary per participating country involved in the consortium
  • a minimum of one and a maximum of two support organisations active at EU level

• Total budget of the topic “SMP-COSME-2022-SEE-01”: 6 million euro
• Amount of the grant: between 750 000 and 1 million euro
• Co-financing rate: up to 90% of the total eligible costs