PoCIDIF 2.1: deadline extended to 30 October for IT SMEs, grants of up to €3 million

The PoCIDIF 2.1 call for the development of innovative ICT services, applications and products no longer closes on 30 September. Under MIPE Order no. 1500 of 29 September 2026, the deadline has been moved to 30 October 2026, 17:00. IT SMEs and newly established IT companies can still apply for grants of between €200,000 and €3 million from the call budget of €48.81 million.

The same order also changes the definition of an enterprise, the conditions for newly established companies, the scoring criteria and the salary scale. Even if your project is nearly ready, check it again against the new rules.

In brief

• Programme: Smart Growth, Digitalisation and Financial Instruments Programme (PoCIDIF) 2021–2027, Priority 2, Action 2.1
• Authority: Ministry of Investments and European Projects (PoCIDIF Managing Authority). The scheme is administered by the ADR, through the OIPSI
• Beneficiaries: ICT micro-enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, plus newly established ICT enterprises, either alone or in partnership with other SMEs
• Total budget: €48,813,278, of which €37,896,648 for the less developed regions and €10,916,630 for Bucharest-Ilfov
• Value per project: minimum €200,000. Maximum €3,000,000 for an innovative hardware product and €1,500,000 for a software solution (service or application), including de minimis aid
• Submission period: 30 June 2026, 15:00 – 30 October 2026, 17:00, in MySMIS2021
• Status: call open, with the deadline extended by MIPE Order 1500/29.09.2026

What changed under Order 1500/2026?

• The deadline: the call closes on 30 October 2026 at 17:00.
• Definition of an enterprise: several distinct legal entities may be treated as a single economic unit, in line with the Commission Notice on the notion of state aid.
• Newly established companies: the maximum age of 5 years is checked at the level of the whole economic unit. If the parent company, or the group controlled by the same shareholders, has been on the market for more than 5 years, a new SRL can no longer receive aid for newly established enterprises.
• One project per group: within a group of linked or partner companies, only one company can be funded, for a single project. If the same project is submitted several times, only the last version submitted is assessed.
• Project team: under criterion 4.1, only the applicant's employees and people with a CV and a statement that they will be hired under an employment contract count. Experts engaged under a service contract can work on the project, but they earn no points.
• Excellence threshold: 92 points. Projects that reach it go straight to contracting, up to 50% of the call allocation, without waiting for appeals to be resolved.
• Salary scale (Annex 9): ceilings of €75, €55, €35 and €25 per hour, depending on the level of expertise.

Who can apply?

SMEs operating under at least one of the CAEN codes 2611, 2612, 2630, 5821, 5829, 6210, 6220, 6290 or 6310 can apply. Only SMEs, not newly established companies, can take part in a partnership. The conditions in the scheme include a positive operating profit in the last closed financial year (this does not apply to companies established in the year of submission) and no net tax debts at submission and at contract signing.

In Bucharest-Ilfov, regional investment aid is granted only for the Ilfov localities listed in the scheme, for example Ciorogârla, Domnești, Snagov, Buftea, Chitila or Pantelimon.

What is funded?

The project must develop a new or significantly improved product, application or service in the smart specialisation subdomains: microelectronics, networks and IoT, XR technologies, artificial intelligence, traceability, robots and cognitive agents. The grant combines regional investment aid, aid for newly established companies, research and development aid and de minimis aid. For the regional aid part, the own contribution is at least 25% of eligible costs.

What this means for your business

Our recommendation: do not treat the extra month as breathing space. Use it to bring your application in line with the new rules. In practice:

• Check the group: linked and partner companies may lose eligibility, especially start-ups set up by entrepreneurs who already own an older company.
• Rework the technical team: if you named external consultants as technical coordinator or expert, criterion 4.1 is now scored only for employees or future employees. A score of 0 on this sub-criterion leads to rejection.
• Recalculate the salary budget using the new scale of €25–75 per hour.
• Watch the thresholds that wipe out your score: for software projects, hardware above 20% of the eligible value, ineligible costs above 15%, or the lack of two comparable offers for each cost all result in 0 points on the budget sub-criterion.

The call suits IT companies developing their own product, not those that only build bespoke software for clients. If you are not sure you qualify, start with the eligibility check or read the PoCIDIF 2.1 programme page.

Frequently asked questions

Until when can projects be submitted under PoCIDIF 2.1?

Until 30 October 2026 at 17:00, in MySMIS2021. The original deadline was 30 September 2026 and it was extended by MIPE Order no. 1500/29.09.2026.

What is the maximum grant I can get?

Maximum €3,000,000 for an innovative hardware product and €1,500,000 for an innovative software solution, including de minimis aid. The minimum non-refundable funding is €200,000 per project.

Does it matter if I have already submitted my project?

Yes. If a project is submitted several times, only the last version submitted is assessed. A submitted project can be replaced with a version adapted to the new rules, but the earlier version is no longer assessed.

Can two companies from the same group apply?

No. Within a group of linked or partner companies, only one company can be funded, for a single project.

What is the excellence threshold?

It is a score of 92 points. Projects that reach it go straight to contracting, in order of score, until 50% of the call allocation is used up.

Official sources

• PoCIDIF Managing Authority announcement on the amendment of the Applicant's Guide, Action 2.1
• MIPE Order no. 1500/29.09.2026 (PDF)
• Call page on oportunitati-ue.gov.ro
• MIPE Order no. 875/15.06.2026 – state aid and de minimis aid scheme (PDF)
• PoCIDIF 2.1 Applicant's Guide on mfe.gov.ro

Information checked on 29 September 2026. Conditions may be changed by the managing authority — check the guide in force before submitting.