Only 7% of companies think they’ll qualify for bazooka funds

A Portuguese Enterprise Association (AEP) survey has revealed a lack of confidence among business owners that they will stand a chance of receiving EU bazooka funds from Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan.

In fact, three out of every four companies believe that Portugal’s PPR will fall well short of their expectations and just 7% believe that they’ll get the benefit of available funds.
According to the survey carried out in September by the AEP, 60% of the 342 companies consulted said they thought they were unlikely to get or use the millions from the EU bazooka.
Luís Miguel Ribeiro, president of the AEP said it was a “clear signal that companies believed that the RRP was not meant to help private companies” which he called “serious” and added that only a larger allocation of funds to Portugal’s wealth and employment creators (companies) would have an impact in terms of a stronger and sustained recovery.”
“Business owners know that the lion’s share of the funds will go to the public sector and those funds which are allocated to private companies will arrive late in their allocation and implementation. You only have to look at the case of recapitalisation support measures.”
“The red tape and time it takes to get projects approved are not compatible with the actual needs of companies which is why the take-up rates are so low. Incentives to companies should be open and continuous and not via adverts and notices that don’t always coincide with company timings”, adds Luís Miguel Ribeiro.