Grants

The EIS export loan is intended for financing transactions involving the export of goods produced in Estonia and is issued to an Estonian exporter. The purpose of the export loan is to give the foreign buyer a payment term of at least two years and to finance the payment of the credit insurance premium and, if necessary, the production of goods to be sold to the foreign buyer. The loan is not granted in the sector of production, processing and marketing of arms and ammunition.

The loan amount is up to €15 million per foreign buyer, but not more than the insured credit limit. The loan interest is at least equal to the market interest rate. The loan period is 2–10 years. 

Loan guarantee helps companies that want to take out a bank loan, lease or bank guarantee (including a letter of credit) but whose business history or collateral does not satisfy the bank.

The amount of the guarantee for small or medium-sized enterprises is up to €25 million, for larger enterprises up to €2.25 million. The guarantee amounts to 50–80% of the commitment. The guarantee fee is 0.5–3.8% of the surety balance.

The Defence Fund invests directly in innovative technology companies and growth companies in the traditional economy that are developing a technology or product relevant to defence or security.

The state acquires a minority holding of up to 49% in the company; the investment ranges from €0.5 million to €10 million per company; the investment is made with a private investor on market terms (minimum private investor funding is 30% of the project); the investment is made in companies established in Estonia and other NATO member countries (if it creates added value for the Estonian economy).

Venture capital fund backed by all NATO members, which exceeds €1 billion. The fund focuses on deep technology companies looking for solutions to defence and security challenges. The NIF has unique access to nearly 90 NATO-related test centres and more than 6,000 scientists of the Allied countries. Estonian companies can also approach the NIF to attract investment.

Investments are made in companies developing dual-use technologies. The maximum investment in a company is €15 million with the possibility of further investment.

Industrial loan is a subordinated loan designed to help increase the self-financing rate of a project in the eyes of a credit institution. Companies can use industrial loans to co-finance investments in plant, property and equipment and intangible assets with a bank or a leasing company.

The loan amount is up to €2 million, but not more than 40% of the cost of the project. The loan interest is generally equal to the interest rate of the credit institution, but increases depending on the size of the holding of the EIS in the project. The term of the loans is up to 15 years, no collateral is required.

The grant is meant for investment in the establishment of a new production unit, which increases the company’s competitiveness, export capacity and added value.

The amount of the grant is up to €20 million. The self-financing must be at least 85%. A company registered in the Estonian Commercial Register may apply for the grant if it plans to:

• invest at least €100 million in fixed assets
• and create at least 30 new jobs as a result of the investment
• the state cannot own more than 49% of the applicant or a company belonging to the same group as the applicant.

The grant is meant for making a new investment in the manufacturing sector that contributes to the creation of higher added value and increasing the international competitiveness of the company.

The amount of the grant is €1–3 million. Self-financing must be at least 85%, so the amount of the investment must be at least €6.7 million.

The goal of the NATO DIANA Accelerator Programme is to support deep technology start-ups that contribute to national security and the defence sector. The accelerator offers a high quality training programme, an international mentoring network, test centres, grants (€100,000 for development and an additional €300,000 for the best). Dual-use technologies are developed in the accelerator and it brings together innovators and end-users of new technologies. 

Technology readiness level (TRL) 4+, dual-use innovative solutions.

The European Defence Fund allows companies to develop products in pan-European consortia. The Ministry of Defence provides co-financing for the projects of the Defence Fund and supports Estonian companies in joining pan-European consortia.

A consortium can be formed by at least three companies or institutions from three different European Member States and Norway. The project must comply with the objective of the specific call (scope and targeted activities), and applications can be filed for two directions: development and research.

The grant allows a company to develop an internationally competitive new or substantially modified product or service. From a defence industry perspective, the support focuses on dual-use technologies.

The maximum grant is €500,000 and the grant rate is 25–45% (depending on the size of the company). The company’s average turnover over the last 2 years must be at least €200,000. The project must address at least one of the RDIE focus areas. Product development is supported within the meaning of Article 25 of the General Block Exemption Regulation.

Support for applied research and experimental development is available for the development of new technologies, products, services, or processes. In addition to funding, advisory services on development activities and business matters are also provided. Support can also be granted for the development of single-use (lethal) technologies.

The amount of support requested is 250 000 to 2 000 000 euros.

The company development programme supports the implementation of the company’s long-term strategic development plan and increasing its international competitiveness. The grant is meant for the development of the company’s organisation and processes, the development of a product or service, the development of sales and marketing activities, the development people or the purchase of equipment.

Mandatory preliminary consultation. The grant can be applied for by a company registered in Estonia that has been operating for at least 2 years and employs at least 8 full-time employees. The company’s export sales turnover for the last financial year is at least €50,000 or the total sales turnover has increased by an average of 5% or more per year over the last 2 financial years. The project contributes to the RDIE focus area. The amount of the grant per company is €500,000. The amount of self-financing depends on the size of the company.

The pre-accelerator prepares companies for the next stage of development to apply for business accelerator programmes focusing on dual-use technologies (e.g. NATO DIANA Accelerator Programme).

Applicants must have a technological readiness level of at least 3 or higher. The amount of the grant is €5,000 for prototype development and mentoring.

ESTHub is a remote sensing cluster in Estonia that provides a single national platform for searching, downloading and processing satellite data. A new ESTHub value proposition is being created to offer new services to companies.

Companies are supported in protecting and commercialising the intellectual property generated by their development activities through high-level strategic intellectual property advisory services, training, support materials, etc. Measures supporting the activity.

IP strategy advice – open to all companies, 5 hours free of charge, thereafter €100/hour. IP training – training courses and seminars/workshops on the strategic use of IP for companies or groups (including public sector institutions) on the basis of a price list. Development cooperation experts in product and service development – first 6 hours free of charge, thereafter €100/hour. Finding and connecting development partners and service providers around the world, reaching out to development cooperation networks and forwarding requests and offers for cooperation. Technology intelligence – search for technologies, analytics and monitoring based on patent and scientific literature, first 5 hours free of charge, thereafter €100/hour.