Mini Development Contracts (Mini Contratti di Sviluppo)

Mini Development Contracts — STEP Call (Mini Contratti di Sviluppo)

Funds Italian manufacturing projects in southern regions through industrial development grants and STEP programs.

Eligibility · Italy — 7 regions

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

Mini Contratti di Sviluppo 2025 STEP is a MIMIT incentive established by Ministerial Decree of 12 August 2024, administered by Invitalia, that supports investment programmes of EUR 5 million to EUR 20 million in STEP critical-technology sectors at single production sites located in the less-developed Mezzogiorno regions eligible under PN RIC 2021–2027 (Molise, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, Sicily, and Sardinia). The measure is exclusively a non-repayable grant with intensities of 55% for small enterprises, 45% for medium, and 35% for large, applied under the regional aid rules of Article 14 GBER. The total endowment is EUR 300 million: EUR 100 million from PN-RIC OP1 reserved for SMEs, and EUR 200 million from PN-RIC OP-STEP open to both SMEs and large enterprises. Eligible investment activities include creating a new production unit, expanding capacity at an existing one, reconverting an existing unit into a different ATECO class, or fundamentally restructuring the production process through introduction of innovative, advanced technologies. Eligible expenditure covers land and site preparation (up to 10% of total eligible investment), civil works (up to 40%), new factory-grade machinery and equipment, and software, patents, licences, and know-how (up to 50% of total eligible investment for large firms).

Eligible applicants are enterprises of any size. Research institutions and universities are not eligible. Investments must cover a single production site in one of the seven qualifying Mezzogiorno regions and must be completed within 36 months of the grant decision, extendable by up to 12 months. Each investment plan must include a mandatory employment plan that increases headcount, including the hiring of qualified workers. Investment plans must not involve sectors excluded from the FESR and GBER scope. The submission window opened on 5 February 2025 and was extended by Directorial Decree of 4 April 2025 to close at 12:00 on 27 May 2025; the final ranking has since been published.

Agevolazioni are disbursed in up to four progress-of-work tranches; an advance payment of up to 40% of total awarded aid can be released against a bank guarantee. Scoring for ranking considers financial independence, incidence of core business on turnover, environmental sustainability of the plan, innovativeness, and the employment plan. Bonus points apply for a legality rating, gender-equality certification, and documented environmental-impact methodologies.