EU Funding

Comerț și Servicii 2023 — 2,615 applications for roughly 149 places

The 2023 session of the Comerț și Servicii programme closed on 4 January 2024, with about 17 applicants per place — here are the figures and why the RON 500,000 ceiling is still misquoted.

Programme fact sheet

Programme: Programul de dezvoltare a activităților de comercializare a produselor și serviciilor de piață — sesiunea 2023
Programme family: MEDAT
Managing authority: MEAT (now MEDAT) / AIMMAIPE
Status: ClosedChecked on 30 July 2026
Submission deadline: 4 January 2024
Funding value: up to 250,000 RON
Eligible beneficiaries: SMEs

The programme's official applicant guide

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.

Seventeen applicants for every available place: that is the statistic that defines the 2023 session of Romania's Programme for developing the marketing of products and market services — Comerț și Servicii, the national trade-and-services grant scheme. The session stayed open for roughly two weeks, from 21 December 2023 to 4 January 2024, and in that short interval 2,615 applications were filed, around 17 times more than the approximately 149 places the RON 74.5 million budget allowed; the last file to secure an allocation sat at position C-172. The session also brought a change of structure, not merely a bigger ceiling: historically the programme had offered pure grants of RON 250,000-300,000, but the 2023 formula raised the ceiling to RON 500,000 with only 50% non-repayable aid — a grant capped at RON 250,000 — the other half being a mandatory bank investment credit. For retailers, the online store ranked among the most sought-after items on the cost list. Checked on 30 July 2026, the session remains closed and we identify no open national call dedicated specifically to digitalizing commerce. Northdan Soft is a software supplier, not a funding consultant: we build the online store and the stock system, not the application file.

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

An unequivocal verdict on the session

The 2023 session has been closed since 4 January 2024 and does not reopen. The page stays an archive and routes to the currently documented options instead of a form that no longer exists.

The real competition, in figures

2,615 applications for roughly 149 fundable places means almost 17 candidates per place — a fair benchmark for how fast a first-come-first-served file must be filed.

The financing's new anatomy: grant plus credit

You see the difference between the historic pure grants of RON 250,000-300,000 and the 2023 formula of RON 500,000 with a mandatory bank credit — essential if the programme returns.

What still holds for a future session

The functional specification, the dated technical offer and the budget by cost category are written before a window opens. On a two-week window, preparation is the only controllable variable.

The most crowded race of December 2023

Opened on 21 December 2023 on the national programmes platform and closed on 4 January 2024, the session worked on a first-come-first-served basis. The RON 74.5 million budget stretched to approximately 149 beneficiaries — while demand ran to 2,615 applications.

The last file admitted within budget carried position C-172. Those who filed in the first hours had a chance; those who waited a few days were left, almost mathematically, outside the allocation. The practical conclusion for any future session of this type: the file, the offers and the budgets are prepared before opening, not after.

From pure grant to the RON 500,000 hybrid model

The 2023 formula rewrote the programme: the ceiling climbed to RON 500,000, but the non-repayable aid covered only 50%, the rest coming compulsorily from a bank investment credit. It is the same hybrid architecture applied in parallel at Microindustrializare — and a substantive change from the historic sessions, where the pure grant went up to RON 250,000-300,000.

For applicants this meant an extra filter: bankability. The firm first had to convince a partner bank to lend to it, and only then could it benefit from the non-repayable half — a test not every well-scored file passed.

The digital costs the 2023 procedure accepted

The list of digital costs covered the website or e-commerce platform, the domain name, online promotion, software and licences, IT equipment and the electronic signature. For traders, the online store was among the most requested items — the channel that turned a physical point of sale into a business with national reach.

That list belongs to the 2023 procedure and must not be assumed identical for another edition: what is eligible in a session is read from that session's own procedure, and a budget built on a three-year-old list is the first thing struck out at verification.

As checked on 30 July 2026 we identify no open national call dedicated specifically to digitalizing commerce: the 2026 edition of the Comerț programme depends on the MEDAT budget being adopted, Start-Up Nation session 2 is announced without a submission calendar, and the regional routes have different windows and ceilings from one development agency to another. What a software supplier contributes stays the same whichever route opens: a technical offer for the e-commerce platform, a budget by cost category and the acceptance documents at delivery.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still enrol in the Comerț și Servicii 2023 session?

It is no longer possible: the submission window ended on 4 January 2024, and the roughly 149 budgeted places were filled in order of enrolment. The programme's up-to-date situation is on our live page dedicated to it.

What real chances did applicants have in the 2023 session?

Statistically, about one in 17: 2,615 applications competed for the RON 74.5 million budget, enough for approximately 149 beneficiaries, and the last file with an allocation was at position C-172. Submission order made the difference.

Could an online store be paid for from the programme's money?

Yes — the e-commerce platform, website, domain, online promotion, licensed software, IT equipment and electronic signature appeared on the cost list, and for traders the online store was one of the most requested investments.

How does the 2023 session differ from the Comerț programme's old editions?

In structure: the historic editions awarded a pure grant, with ceilings of RON 250,000-300,000, whereas the 2023 formula lifted the ceiling to RON 500,000 while making 50% of the project conditional on a mandatory bank investment credit.