EU Funding

Grants for SMEs in Romania in 2026 — not just digitalization

The 2026 grant landscape for SMEs in Romania goes beyond digitalization — yet nearly every serious scheme carries a digital component that matters for scoring.

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.

An SME scanning the Romanian funding landscape in 2026 should start with one number that binds almost every scheme together: the de-minimis ceiling of EUR 300,000 over three years per single undertaking, set by Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 and applied identically in the SME Eco-Tech procedure, in the grant component of the POCIDIF guarantee instrument and in the de-minimis part of POCIDIF Action 2.1. Above that common filter sit the routes themselves, each with its own eliminatory criterion: sector and turnover for SME Eco-Tech, the authorised CAEN code for POCIDIF 2.1, the county for the Just Transition Programme, the type of holding for the AFIR interventions and company age for Start-Up Nation. MEDAT, the Ministry of Economy, has officially announced session 2 of Start-Up Nation, offering up to RON 250,000 for new companies, even though submission dates are still unpublished. The practical takeaway: wherever you apply, a well-specified software solution strengthens the project, and Northdan prepares exactly that component — technical offer, eligible budget, on-schedule delivery.

Let’s talk about your project

Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.

Message us on WhatsApp Send an email

office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247

How we help

A digital component that holds up under evaluation

Wherever the selection grid rewards technology, we build a concrete solution justified by dated quotes rather than a decorative line in the budget.

A realistic software budget

We estimate costs from projects we have delivered, because evaluators check the reasonableness of budget prices independently, against the market.

A stable vendor for the whole project

A grant stretches over years; we remain the technical partner from writing the specifications to the project's final reimbursement request.

The national schemes: Start-Up Nation and the MEDAT programmes

Session 2 of Start-Up Nation is officially confirmed, with funding of up to RON 250,000 and expenditure possible until 8 December 2027. The submission calendar has not appeared, so the current period is ideal for preparing the business plan and its digital chapter.

Microindustrializare and Comerț depend on MEDAT's 2026 budget — a launch is possible, not certain. SME Eco-Tech, since the order published in Official Gazette no. 558 of 7 July 2026, covers trade and services as well as manufacturing, and closes on 24 September 2026 at 20:00.

The sectoral and regional European funds

In agriculture, digitalization has no dedicated intervention of its own: it enters as part of an investment project under the DR interventions listed in AFIR's own nomenclature, and the amounts and selection criteria are read in each intervention's guide rather than in a general list.

The Just Transition Programme covers exclusively six counties moving away from coal and heavy industry — Gorj, Hunedoara, Dolj, Galați, Prahova and Mureș. Contracted projects are under way, and MIPE announces future calls; the ceilings remain those in the official guides.

Whichever scheme you choose, the software line is defended with the same instruments as any other cost: at least two dated price justifications per budgeted expense, and reasonableness checked independently by evaluators against market prices.

Frequently asked questions

Which grants can non-IT SMEs target in 2026?

It depends on the profile: manufacturers, traders and service firms can analyse SME Eco-Tech (open until September 2026), farmers have the AFIR investment interventions, companies in the six Just Transition counties track the calls announced by MIPE, and new companies await Start-Up Nation session 2.

Does digitalization matter even in grants that are not about digitalization?

It depends on the call's scoring grid, and that grid is read in the intervention's guide rather than in a general list. In the AFIR interventions, for instance, digitalization has no dedicated line and enters as part of the investment project.

Can I include an ERP or an online store in a general-purpose grant?

In many schemes, yes — provided these costs appear in the eligible categories of that call's guide. We draft the budget so every software component maps clearly to an eligible category, not to interpretations.