Lisbon, June 4, 2025 (Lusa) - The government launched a financial instrument for innovative investments in companies on Wednesday, with an initial allocation of €315 million from funds left over from other programmes financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).
"This instrument has an initial allocation of €315 million, will be managed by the Banco Portugal de Fomento (BPF) and will receive surplus funds from other programmes financed with RRP grants, to be used for innovative investments in companies," the office of the Deputy Minister and Minister for Territorial Cohesion said on Wednesday.
According to the ministry, the BPF expects that by 2026, the new mechanism "will induce a total investment of more than €800 million in business innovation by channelling financial support for the reindustrialisation of the business fabric in an environment more favourable to innovation".
The priority of this "Financial Instrument for Innovation and Competitiveness" will be given to "the development and industrial adoption of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and the strengthening of the national industrial and technological base for defence and security".
“The government has taken the political decision to return the surplus funds from other RRP programmes and measures, whether resulting from savings or difficulties or delays in implementation, to the business fabric, SMEs and large companies,” the deputy minister for territorial cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, stressed.
The minister stressed that this will achieve two objectives: "To support more innovative investments that increase the competitiveness of Portuguese companies; and to ensure that, by the end of 2026, there will be no amount left unspent from the subsidies that the European Commission has made available to Portugal".
The BPF will adopt a "flexible implementation methodology, to encourage private investment and improve access to finance for companies to develop innovative projects," the ministry also stressed.
"As this is a financial instrument managed by a promotional bank, the BPF, its implementation will be more flexible in terms of pace and deadlines," said Economy Minister Pedro Reis, quoted in the same press release.
The government also stressed that this new measure "is closely linked to the needs outlined in the Draghi Report" and the European Commission's "Compass for Competitiveness" strategic framework.
"The aim is to help reposition Europe and drastically reduce its innovation deficit vis-à-vis countries such as the United States and China, as well as its dependence on external suppliers, while maintaining the dual commitment to the climate and digital transitions," the statement added.
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