Coimbra, Portugal, Aug. 4, 2025 (Lusa) - The Regional Programme for Central Portugal (Centro 2030) has launched a call for proposals with €20 million in European funding to support businesses and investment in low-density areas, with a focus on exports, it was announced on Monday.
In a note sent to the Lusa news agency, the Regional Coordination and Development Commission of the Centre (CCDRC) explained that the tender now launched “aims to support innovative business investment (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises), promoting a change in the specialisation profile of the Portuguese economy and strengthening its external competitiveness through differentiation, diversification and innovation”.
The statement explains that the funding is aimed at projects "that propose to produce tradable and internationalisable goods and services, with a focus on exports, within the framework of broader production sectors and value chains that generate greater added value".
Quoted in the note, Isabel Damasceno, president of CCDRC, states that the tender “reflects a commitment to the competitiveness of the regional economy and in particular of low-density territories”, recalling that these “require special attention, with more generous co-financing rates and fully non-reimbursable financing”.
According to the CCDRC, the €20 million is intended to finance the creation of new establishments or the expansion of an existing establishment.
The funding also covers the diversification of an establishment's production to products not previously produced or services not previously provided, or the modification of the overall production process or service provision.
The call for tenders was published last Wednesday, 30 July, and applications are open until 31 March 2026.
According to the coordination committee, in addition to this specific notice from Centro 2030, companies in the region “can also benefit from the 70 million put up for tender” by the Innovation and Digital Transition Programme (COMPETE 2030).
Data from the CCDRC consulted by Lusa reveal that the Central region, for the purposes of applying EU funds under Portugal 20230, corresponds to 100 local authorities, spread across eight intermunicipal communities: Aveiro, Viseu Dão Lafões, Beiras and Serra da Estrela, Coimbra, Leiria, Beira Baixa, Médio Tejo and Oeste.
Of the 100 local authorities, around 60 are classified as low population density areas and are mainly located inland.
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