An information session on the Digital Innovation Hubs measure was organised at ANI Porto’s premises on 15 May at 11.15am.

The session was organised by ANI, as Managing Entity in January 2024, and IAPMEI, as Intermediary Beneficiary, of this PRR measure – Recovery and Resilience Plan. It was also co-organised by the Digital Transition Monitoring Group, which also includes DGAE, COMPETE and Startup Portugal.

The face-to-face session was aimed exclusively at the leaders of the Digital Innovation Hubs and was broadcast online for the other co-promoters. It focused on presenting the documents recently published on the IAPMEI website, namely the Payment Methodology and the Rules for Eligibility of Expenditure. The leaders of the consortium also had the opportunity to clarify some issues relating to the implementation and operationalisation of the measure.

As a result of the session, it was proposed that there should be greater synergy between the organisations of the Digital Innovation Hubs and the Monitoring Group, with more clarification sessions planned for the future, as well as the updating of documents such as the FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions.

As part of the PRR’s investments, component C16 – Empresas 4.0 brings together investments with the mission of strengthening the digitalisation of companies and catching up with the digital transition process. This is where the measure of the National Network of Digital Innovation Hubs lies.

Digital Innovation Hubs are consortia that aim to be a one-stop-shop, while acting as a gateway to the innovation ecosystem, providing the following core services:

• Test Before Investing: Experiment with solutions to validate their applicability to your business.
• Training in digital: Empowering SMEs and start-ups, and public administration, both in terms of their leadership and their employees;
• Foster Relationships: Access a network of national and international partners.
• Financing Support: Identify funding opportunities and facilitate their acquisition.
• Incubation Support: Provide resources for entrepreneurship acceleration, start-up incubation, and growth.

The National Network of Digital Innovation Hubs thus aims to create a national network for the development and testing of new products and services, to help SMEs and the Public Administration adopt digitalisation.

This measure has a budget of 60 million euros from the PRR and aims to create 16 Digital Innovation Centres and provide services to 4,000 companies by 2025. There are currently 17 selected centres, 3 of which belong to the European Network (EDIH) and 13 of which have been awarded the European Seal of Excellence.

All the documentation on this measure can be found on the IAPMEI website here.