EU Funding

The 2026 SME digitalization call: which route is real and what submission demands

There is a European route for SMEs in 2026, but it is not the one most companies are looking for — and the confusion costs weeks of work.

Northdan Soft is a software supplier, not a funding consultancy, and is not affiliated with any managing authority or development agency. Programme information is indicative — always check the conditions in the programme's official applicant guide.

The phrase 'SME digitalization call' covers two different things in 2026, and confusing them explains a large share of the dossiers started for nothing. POCIDIF Action 2.1 is a competitive call with a fixed deadline, open in MySMIS2021 from 30 June 2026 at 15:00 until 30 September 2026 at 17:00, under the guide approved by MIPE Order no. 965/23.06.2026; it finances the development of a new product taken to market, not the purchase of software for your own company, and it requires a CAEN code from the ICT sphere. SME Eco-Tech is the other route, an investment whose grant of at most 40% of eligible costs, capped at RON 267,240, is tied compulsorily to a bank loan, with entries until 24 September 2026 at 20:00; since the order published in Monitorul Oficial no. 558 of 7 July 2026 it covers trade, services and micro-enterprises as well as manufacturing. A POCIDIF 2.1 project is approved only with a minimum of 70 points, and the excellence threshold is 92. Verified on 30 July 2026 in the guide and in the official guide register, including the clarification note published on 28 July 2026.

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Fast check of your technical fit

From the first conversation we tell you whether the software solution you want matches the cost categories of the targeted call or whether adjustments are needed.

A technical dossier without improvisation

Our offer details functionality, licences, development and maintenance services in the format evaluators can score easily.

Continuity after contracting

The same team that wrote the specifications also delivers the project, so no surprises appear between what the dossier promised and what you receive at the end.

The POCIDIF 2.1 call — who it is really for

Although the label 'SME digitalization' sounds generous, POCIDIF 2.1 addresses exclusively companies with a CAEN code in the ICT area. A manufacturing, retail or services firm that simply wants to buy an ERP does not qualify here, however solid its project.

The submission window opened on 30 June 2026 and closes on 30 September 2026. The large project values — from EUR 200,000 in non-repayable aid up to EUR 1,500,000 for an innovative software solution — presuppose serious technical documentation, not an equipment list written in a hurry. The three-million figure circulating in the press belongs to a different category: innovative hardware products manufactured by the beneficiary company itself.

What submission actually demands

Applications are filed exclusively through MySMIS2021, which assigns the SMIS project code automatically, with the application and its annexes uploaded as PDF. Three of the compulsory annexes depend directly on the software supplier: at least two offers or price justifications for every budgeted eligible cost, signed and dated by the issuer; the itemised budget used to check cost reasonableness, per Annex 6; and the offer summary sheet, per Annex 7. Scoring then decides twice — 70 points to be approved, and 92 as the excellence threshold, where projects enter contracting in order of submission up to 50% of the call allocation.

The budget is where a weak file loses points. Without the two offers a cost becomes ineligible and the sub-criterion scores zero. Above 15% of ineligible costs found at evaluation the score is zero, between 10% and 15% it is 5, and below 10% it is 10. On projects whose result is software, hardware above 20% of the total eligible value also scores zero. And costs where formal offers are suspected between the applicant and the firms quoting — or those who prepared the submission documentation — are declared ineligible, with the quoting firm's field of activity checked.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a 2026 digitalization call open to any SME, regardless of sector?

Not at the verification date, 30 July 2026. The two routes carry strict filters: POCIDIF 2.1 requires an ICT CAEN code and finances a product taken to market, while SME Eco-Tech ties its grant to a bank loan covering at least 60% of the investment. An SME outside both patterns is left with preparing early for the announced sessions.

Why does the guide ask for two offers per budgeted cost?

To demonstrate that costs are reasonable, which evaluators then verify independently against market prices. Without the two justifications the cost is treated as ineligible and the budget sub-criterion scores zero, and the guide also checks the field of activity of the firms that issued the offers.

If the right route for me is not open, what can I do now?

Define the project in advance: the processes to digitalize, an estimated budget, a chosen supplier. Start-Up Nation session 2 has been announced by MEDAT, and at 30 July 2026 none of its three governing documents carried a submission date, so whoever has specifications ready files in the first days after a launch.