Start-up Grant

Information session

You can find the slides of the start-up grant information session (in Estonian) and the video (in Estonian)

Pre-consultation at the regional development centre

Before submitting an application, it is mandatory to undergo pre-consultation and obtain a preliminary assessment at the local regional development centre. After that, the application can be submitted in the e-support environment. Before completing the documents required for pre-consultation, please contact the business consultant of the regional development centre (contacts below).

For pre-consultation, please prepare the following documents:

• Business plan (digitally signed by the entrepreneur)
• Financial forecasts
• CVs / résumés (of shareholders and management board members)

The regional development centre conducting the pre-consultation will prepare a digitally signed assessment within 30 days of the submission of the above-mentioned documents. This assessment serves as proof of the completion of the pre-consultation.

Please contact the business consultant of the appropriate regional development centre:

Application submission

The application can be compiled and submitted in the online E-toetus environment
Grant can be applied only in Estonian language.

After completing the pre-consultation, the application can be submitted via the e-support environment. In addition to the application, the following documents (all in Estonian) must be submitted:

• Sample application form  Application completion guide
• Preliminary assessment (digitally signed by a regional development centre employee)
• Business plan
• Financial forecasts
• Balance sheet and income statement as of the end of the quarter immediately preceding the application submission (if the company has no activity, then a zero balance sheet)
• CVs / résumés (of shareholders and management board members)
• Power of attorney sample (if the signatory of the application is not a representative of the applicant)

Submit application

Evaluation of the application

We use artificial intelligence to assess eligible applications.
The final decision on whether or not to fund projects is made by the EIS.
The deadline for processing applications is 20 working days from the date of submission.
The evaluation criteria and their weight in the overall score are as follows:

We recommend reviewing the selection methodology before preparing the application to ensure that all aspects to be assessed are correctly reflected in the project.

Selection methodology (in Estonian)

Compliance with the publicity requirement

Having received a grant, you have an obligation to inform the public about the use of the grant.
Read more:
Notification of the Funding

A poster must be placed at the location of the project. The poster must be at least A3 in size and must include the logo “Co-financed by the European Union”, which must occupy at least 25 percent of the poster’s surface area. In addition, the name or brief description of the project. The poster must be displayed during the project’s eligibility period.

Genereeri plakat Logo failid

If the company has a website, it must also publish the logo with the words “Co-financed by the European Union”, a short description of the project, its objective, result and the amount of support.
If the company does not yet have a place of operation or a website, the announcement about the project funding can be published on the company’s social media account.

Project implementation – first instalment of the grant

The beneficiary shall submit an interim report in the e-support environment. The interim report must be submitted within four months of the decision approving the application. The interim report must demonstrate the creation of one full-time equivalent job within three months of the approval decision.

• An employment contract signed by both parties

• An extract from the Employment Register (TÖR) concerning the job related to the employment contract (available from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board e-services). More detailed information on employment registration can be found on the website of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.

After the interim report has been approved, the first instalment of the grant (€15,000) will be disbursed. If the job has not been created, the grant will not be paid out.

Sample report form (for projects submitted from 2026)
Sample report form (for projects submitted earlier)

submit report

Verification of project results – second instalment of the grant

The beneficiary shall submit the final report in the e-support environment. The final report must be submitted within 30 calendar days after the end of the project eligibility period. The final report must demonstrate that the created full-time equivalent job has been paid at least the applicable minimum wage and that the growth potential has been achieved.

The following must be submitted:

• Submit Form TSD Annex 1, or in the case of declared remuneration paid to a non-resident, Form TSD Annex 2, as well as the employment contract signed by both parties (if it was submitted with the interim report, it does not need to be submitted again). Forms TSD Annex 1 and Annex 2 can be obtained from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board’s e-service.

• Income statements (to prove the turnover generated from the project’s field of activity during the second eligible project year).

After the approval of the final report, the second instalment of the grant (€5,000) will be disbursed.

Sample report form (for projects submitted from 2026)
Sample report form (for projects submitted earlier)

submit report