Uruguay: grants for innovative leather firms
17/09/2015
Money will be available in the form of non-refundable grants to qualifying firms, in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. FOCEM, a special fund aimed at encouraging “structural convergence” in the Mercosur economic bloc, is the source of 85% of the funding, with the other 15% coming from the Uruguayan government.
Qualifying companies have to meet several criteria. First, they must be at least 50% Uruguayan-owned while also having business or business partners outside the country. They must come from an area of industry to which the government has given priority status: this includes leather and leathergoods production, along with food, forestry, dairy and a number of other industries.
They must apply for a grant for a specific innovation project, but it must be an idea whose implementation will not lead to technology replacing people in the workplace. Each company must also match the amount of money allocated to them through the programme.
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