Using ΕΣΠΑ and Digital-Transformation Grants to Pay for a Website or Software in Greece (2026)

As of late October 2026, we could not find a national grant open to new applications that pays specifically for a small business website, e-shop or software in Greece. The two big programmes of recent years are closed: the Recovery Fund vouchers «Ψηφιακά Εργαλεία ΜμΕ» stopped taking applications in 2025, and the ΕΣΠΑ bundle «Ψηφιακός Μετασχηματισμός ΜμΕ» closed in March 2024. Digital costs can still be funded when a wider investment call lists software, websites or e-shops among its eligible expenses, and such calls open and close throughout the programming period. The practical move is to scope your project properly now, get an itemised written quote, and not sign or pay anything before a call’s eligibility date.

This guide separates what is open, closed and expected, explains how grant-funded digital projects work in practice, and shows how to scope a website or software project so it can qualify without letting the grant decide what you build. It is written for owners of small businesses in Greece, from a shop in Katerini to a guesthouse in Olympiaki Akti.

Where things stand in October 2026

Four funding routes come up most often when Greek businesses ask about grants for digital work. None of them is open to new small-business applications for websites or software that we could confirm.

Sources: the voucher programme page on greece20.gov.gr and its milestones announcement; the ΕΣΠΑ bundle on espa.gr, which also shows that applications opened in February 2023; «Κλειδί Προόδου» on espa.gr and in a July 2026 report by aftodioikisi.gr; and the 13 Development Law schemes on the Ministry of Development portal.

The «Ανταγωνιστικότητα» managing authority’s announcements in September and October 2026 concern other actions, such as approvals under «Ξεκινώ Επιχειρηματικά» and in-house training in strategic technologies, not a new digital transformation call for SMEs (antagonistikotita.gr). New calls usually appear first as a pre-publication (προδημοσίευση) on that site and on espa.gr, so that is where to watch. Separately, on 23 October 2026 the Development Minister said three new Development Law schemes for SMEs, with €150 million each, would be announced by the end of 2026, one of them for modern technologies with an emphasis on artificial intelligence (To Manifesto; see also Naftemporiki). When we checked, no call text, dates or list of eligible expenses had been published, so treat it as expected, not open.

What the Recovery Fund deadline means for digital vouchers

The «Ψηφιακά Εργαλεία ΜμΕ» vouchers were paid for by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility through Greece 2.0. Under the Facility’s rules, Member States had to meet all milestones and targets by 31 August 2026, and the Commission must make its final payments by 31 December 2026 (European Commission). That leaves no room for new RRF-funded voucher rounds. Future digital support for small businesses would have to come from other money, mainly ΕΣΠΑ 2021–2027 programmes or national funds, with their own rules.

So if you see an advert in late 2026 promising a “new Ψηφιακά Εργαλεία voucher”, ask for the official call. Old programmes still publish paperwork: the original 2022 «Ψηφιακά Εργαλεία ΜμΕ» call received its 29th amendment on 1 October 2026 (digitalsme.gov.gr). An amendment to an old call deals with existing beneficiaries. It is not a new chance to apply.

Which digital costs have grants actually covered?

The most detailed recent example is the ΕΣΠΑ action «Βασικός Ψηφιακός Μετασχηματισμός ΜμΕ». Its call, as amended in March 2026 (call text, PDF), lists eligible costs by category, several with a cap as a share of the total budget:

• Office digital equipment: computers (up to two), multifunction printers, barcode and RFID readers, servers. Tablets, mobile phones and televisions were excluded.
• Office, security and storage software: from productivity and CAD tools to invoicing, cloud storage, ERP and data management.
• Business software (up to 15%): CRM, warehouse management, secure e-payments, chatbots, EDI, B2B systems and advanced e-shops.
• Websites, e-shops and mobile apps (up to 30% combined), including translation of content.
• Software as a service (up to 15%), eligible only for the period until the investment plan is completed.
• Consultancy for monitoring the project (up to 10%) and technical support for installation and configuration (up to 20%).

The website rules were stricter than many owners expected. A funded website, e-shop or app had to be available in at least two languages besides Greek, work well on mobile devices, and offer ordering, a real-time availability check and electronic payment. Customer-facing software had to meet WCAG 2.1 at level AA. Initial configuration could not exceed 40% of the software’s purchase cost, support was eligible for up to one year, and software the business developed itself was not eligible.

Other calls draw the line elsewhere. «Κλειδί Προόδου» covered new software alongside equipment, but its official summary does not mention websites or e-shops by name. The voucher programme listed e-commerce solutions and cloud platforms among its categories. Treat each call’s list of eligible expenses as the only list that matters for that call.

How a grant-funded project usually works

Details vary by call, but recent ΕΣΠΑ calls follow a similar sequence. Using the «Βασικός Ψηφιακός Μετασχηματισμός» call as the example:

1. The call is published. Costs became eligible from the publication date of the detailed call. Anything incurred before that date was ineligible, even if not yet invoiced.
2. You apply online through the state aid information system (ΟΠΣΚΕ), usually with your accountant or a consultant. The application describes each item with specifications, and that call required at least one supplier quote for every expense above €20,000.
3. Evaluation. That call assessed applications in order of submission until the budget ran out. Budgets do run out: in «Κλειδί Προόδου», 685 applications that passed evaluation were still rejected because the money was exhausted.
4. Approval and implementation. You carry out the project within the deadline. In the Basic action it started at nine months and was later extended to 31 months (ΕΦΕΠΑΕ).
5. You pay the supplier yourself. Any expense above €500 before VAT had to be paid through a bank, for example by transfer from the business account, so there is a clear audit trail.
6. Verification. You submit invoices, proof of payment, accounting records and evidence that the work exists. The authority can visit, check prices and cut costs it does not consider reasonable or relevant to your activity.
7. Reimbursement. The grant is paid into the business’s bank account after verification. The call notes that timing depends on available funds.
8. Obligations afterwards. For SMEs, for three years after the final payment: keep the funded assets, keep operating, do not move the activity out of the region and do not change the project’s nature.

De minimis: the €300,000 ceiling

Most small-business digital grants are de minimis aid under Regulation (EU) 2023/2831. The ceiling is €300,000 per “single undertaking” over any period of three years, with linked businesses counted together. The regulation has applied since 1 January 2024 and runs until 31 December 2030 (European Commission training material, PDF). Both the Basic Digital Transformation call and «Κλειδί Προόδου» used this regime.

In practice you declare the de minimis aid your business, and any business linked to it, has received in the period. A grant that would take you over the ceiling cannot be given, so ask your accountant to check the total before you apply. From 1 January 2026 the regulation requires countries to record de minimis aid in a central register.

Scoping a website or software project so it can qualify

A grant does not change what good software is, but it does change the paperwork. Assessors check whether each cost is eligible, reasonable and relevant to your activity codes (ΚΑΔ). Make it easy for them to say yes:

• Itemise the quote. One line per deliverable, each matching an expense category in the call: website design and build, e-shop module, translation, configuration, training. A single “digital package: €18,000” line is hard to assess and easy to cut.
• Write a technical description. Pages, languages, functions, integrations, accessibility target and acceptance criteria. This is also what the consultant needs for the application.
• Separate one-off and recurring costs. Subscriptions were only eligible during implementation, so the invoice must show which period is covered.
• State licence and ownership terms. Calls expect the business to own what it buys or hold a legal licence, and the Basic call required deliverables to say how licences are granted. With custom development, written ownership of the code is the cleanest position.
• Buy at arm’s length. Intangible assets had to be bought on market terms from third parties unrelated to the buyer. Your cousin’s web agency is a risk.
• Check supplier rules. The voucher programmes only paid suppliers approved on the programme platform. Other calls may set their own conditions.

For a sense of what each item should cost, see our guides to business website costs in Greece and custom software costs. An honest quote is the same with or without a grant.

What not to do

• Do not buy an overpriced package because it is subsidised. At 50%, an €18,000 bundle still costs you €9,000, plus VAT paid up front, plus months of paperwork. A café in Katerini that needs a fast bilingual site with its menu, hours and a map may be well served by a project in the €400 to €1,000 range, paid directly and live within weeks.
• Do not let the grant write the specification. If a call funds e-shops in three languages, it does not follow that you need one. Build what the business will use and maintain.
• Do not start, sign or pay before the eligibility date. Costs incurred earlier were ineligible, even if not yet invoiced.
• Do not pay in cash anything above the call’s limit, which was €500 before VAT in the Basic call.
• Do not forget the three years after. If you plan to close, sell or move the business, the obligation to keep the investment matters.
• Do not wait for a grant to fix something urgent. If your booking form is broken in April, a call that might open next year is not a plan.

Grant or pay directly? A decision table

Step-by-step checklist

1. Write down the business problem in one paragraph before you look at any call.
2. Check espa.gr (filter for businesses, active or expected calls), your regional programme and the «Ανταγωνιστικότητα» site for open calls and pre-publications.
3. Read the call’s eligible expenses, minimum and maximum budget, aid rate, eligible activity codes and eligibility start date.
4. Ask your accountant to check your de minimis total for the last three years, your SME status and your ΚΑΔ.
5. Get itemised written quotes with technical descriptions from unrelated suppliers, one for each cost.
6. Confirm cash flow: can you pay the full amount, including VAT, before reimbursement?
7. Apply early if the call assesses applications in order of submission.
8. Do not sign, start or pay before the eligibility date. Starting before approval is at your own risk.
9. Pay by bank transfer from the business account, and keep invoices, contracts, deliverables and screenshots in one folder.
10. Diary the implementation deadline and the three-year obligations that follow it.

How Orya One can help

Orya One is a software house in Paralia Katerinis, founded in 2026, and you work directly with the people building your project. We are not grant consultants and we do not prepare applications. What we provide is what a consultant (σύμβουλος) and an assessor need from the supplier: an itemised, fixed written quote, a clear technical specification, a list of deliverables and documentation of what was built. You work with your accountant or consultant on the application itself.

Our websites start from €400 for Essential, €1,000 for Growth (Greek and English, booking, analytics) and €2,500 for Signature (with an e-shop or booking engine). Custom software starts from €1,000, and data and machine learning work from €1,200. We build with GDPR in mind from the start, and once the project is paid in full, the code is yours. If automation or AI is part of your plans, our guide to AI for small businesses in 2026 covers what is worth doing first.

If you are preparing for a call, or want to know whether you need one at all, send us a short note with what you want to build. Or start with our free website check: a written report on speed, phones, Google and accessibility.