Call for proposals: Doing business in areas at risk of commercial desertification – Provincial Law 6/2023

The call for proposals supports the economic revitalisation of municipalities in Trentino with no more than four active retail and/or catering premises as at 31 December 2025, according to data from the Companies Register. 

The scheme consists of a capital grant equal to 50 per cent of eligible expenditure for the establishment, in one of the municipalities at risk of commercial desertification, of a first business unit or an additional unit, or for the relocation of an existing business unit not already established in an area at risk of commercial desertification.
Please refer to Annex 1 of the call for applications to check the exhaustive list of municipalities in Trentino falling within areas at risk of commercial desertification.

What is funded

Eligible investment projects must be carried out in an area at risk of commercial desertification, commencing on or after 1 January 2026 and completed within 18 months of the date the grant is awarded. The investment must fall into one of the following categories:

• the establishment of the first operational unit;
• the establishment of an additional operational unit to those already existing within the province and/or outside the province;
• the relocation of one’s own operational unit, even if it was previously located outside the provincial territory. Furthermore, the relocation must not involve an operational unit located in an area at risk of commercial desertification.

Applications are assessed through an evaluation procedure.
For further information on the characteristics of the initiatives and on the categories, items and sub-items of eligible expenditure , please refer to Articles 9 and 10 of the call for applications.

The amount of the incentive

The incentive, granted as a capital grant, is equal to 50 per cent of the eligible expenditure. 

Two additional increases are available, provided they are expressly requested at the time of application: 

• 10 per cent in the case of a business owned by a woman or a young person (aged 35 or under on the date of application); for companies, at least 51 per cent of the shareholders or shares must be held by women or young people, who may also be directors;
• 10 per cent in the case of the recruitment of a full-time employee, who must remain in post for 3 years from the date of completion of the initiative.

The incentive is granted under the de minimis rule in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 of 13 December 2023.

Expenditure limits

Minimum eligible expenditure: more than 25,000.00 euros.
Maximum eligible expenditure:€300,000.00.

For applications involving expenditure in excess of €150,000.00, a positive assessment of the beneficiary’s financial and economic capacity by a credit or leasing institution is required.

The obligations and restrictions are those set out in the call for proposals and in the general provisions applicable to all projects.
For further information and details on obligations and restrictions please refer to Article 15 of the Call for Applications.

Small and medium-sized enterpriseswith specific ATECO codes in the ‘trade and services’ sector as set out in the Call for Applications, which are making an investment in one of the municipalities at high risk of commercial desertification.
See the ATECO codes specified in the call for applications inArticle 6, point 4.

Each applicant may submit only one application for the incentive, relating to a single operational unit and limited to a single type of investment. The application must be submitted to the assessing body – Trentino Sviluppo S.p.A. – via the Agorà platformusing a SPID, CPS/CNS or CIE digital identity, from 12:00 on 2 November 2026 until 12:00 on 30 June 2027.

Please note! In the event of platform malfunctions
In the event of platform malfunctions that prevent the application from being submitted correctly, these must be reported promptly to the platform’s support service.
Should the disruption persist, the beneficiary must promptly report the issue to the processing body, Trentino Sviluppo S.p.A., via the following certified email (PEC): segreteria@pec.trentinosviluppo.it. 

• Processing times: the Assessing Body (Trentino Sviluppo S.p.A.) assesses applications and determines the incentive within 90 days from the day following the submission of the application.
• Approval deadlines: the Province adopts the approval decision within 60 days from the day following receipt of the list from the Assessing Body, containing the information necessary for the adoption of the decision.
• Deadline for completion of the project: within 18 months of the date on which the grant is awarded. 
• Deadline for submitting the final report: within 24 months of the grant being awarded.
• Deadline for payment of the grant: in a single instalment, within 60 days from the day following receipt of the expenditure report, subject to the submission of a declaration confirming compliance with all obligations and conditions that have expired.