Malta Support Schemes for Business

Grants for business lost due to restrictions

For those business which remained closed beyond May 10 due to the Covid-19 outbreak, a one-time cash grant of € 1000 to mitigate against business lost due to restrictions will be received.

Electricity & Rent Refund Scheme

In 2021, this scheme has been updated to provide an additional 50% grant to top up any rent assistance given in 2020. Furthermore, the current electricity support scheme has been re-issued and extended to cover businesses for the months of June, July and August 2021. Eligible businesses will receive a subsidy of up to 50% of their total electricity bill. Only undertakings which were closed in March and April 2021 and which qualified for the Wage Supplement 2021 Scheme will be eligible to benefit from this scheme.

Smart and sustainable investment scheme

This scheme aims to support companies to reignite their investment plans after the pandemic. The focal points are the new economic niches which Malta is planning to develop in line with the European Green Deal. Companies may be eligible for a cash grant of up to € 50,000 and an additional 20% in the form of tax credits. Companies that undertake investments in Gozo that directly creates new green jobs may be eligible for favourable grants.

Tax credit certificate extension

This scheme provides an extension of the period in which tax credits already awarded through the Micro-Invest Scheme can be utilised. Tax certificates already awarded under this scheme and which are due to expire in 2021, 2022 and 2023 can be extended by up to 3 years.

Change to grow 2021

Through this recently enhanced business re-engineering and transformation scheme, small and medium enterprises, self-employed individuals and micro-enterprises are eligible for professional support to restructure their businesses. In 2021, the aid intensity cap for such restructuring projects doubled from € 5,000 to € 10,000. Businesses can opt to seek support for up to half the advisory fees from external advisors to carry out the necessary restructuring of their operations. Businesses can benefit from this grant once in any 18 months period until 31st December 2023.

Restart incentive scheme 2021

The restart incentive scheme aims to aid those businesses which have encountered going concern difficulties. Through this scheme, businesses can receive financial support to engage business advisors for support. The standard cap as per current guidelines is of €5,000 but this can be increased up to € 10,000 where advisory services include support to implement new business initiatives. 

Skills development scheme

This scheme assists SMEs to provide training to develop and update their workforce’s skills and knowledge. The initial € 30 million budget was increased by € 5 million in 2021. This additional amount specifically targets businesses with less than 50 employees. Through this scheme, businesses can provide in-house training to its employees and promote the sharing of skills between them. This scheme is currently open until 31st December 2022.

Rent Subsidy 2020

Undertakings that required temporary or permanent industrial space for their business activities, are eligible for a maximum grant of € 25,000 over a 12-month period. This amount could also be provided annually over a period of 3 consecutive years, thus reaching a maximum of € 75,000. This aid scheme is currently  available till 31st December 2022 and with 50% reimbursement costs incurred.

Business development scheme 2021

The objective of this scheme is to help businesses carrying out value-added projects that contribute to the regional development of Malta. Through this scheme businesses will be awarded tax credits or (cash) grants up to € 200,000 to support expenditure incurred on such projects. The assistance given will be based on the project’s potential contribution to the Maltese economy and the number of new jobs created or maintained. Under current guidelines this scheme is open till 31st December 2023.

Investment aid-scheme 2021

The main objective of the investment aid scheme is to sustain the regional industrial and economic development of Malta by encouraging the setting up of new establishments and expanding existing businesses. Benefit can be either tax credits or grants. The scheme is available till 31st December 2021.

Business start 2021

With a total budget of €10 million, this scheme supports small start-up companies with a viable business concept through their development phase by providing them with growth funding before seeking third party capital.

Start-up entities may receive an initial grant of € 10,000 to develop a business plan. Entities presenting a viable business plan may be entitled to an additional grant support based on project linked employment effects.  This incentive is available till 31st December 2023 while applications being accepted up till 31st October 2023.

Access to Employment (A2E) Scheme​

This scheme provides employment aid to enterprises in Malta and Gozo to promote the recruitment of the more challenged amongst jobseekers and inactive persons, including inactive persons, 50+ persons, and registered disabled persons. Aid is available for a period of 52 to 156 weeks depending on the target group. Applications are open till end August 2022 and recruitment must take place by end September 2022.

Bridging the Gap Scheme

This is a work exposure scheme (not an employment scheme), designed to support job seekers in the transition from unemployment to employment. It allows the employer to evaluate the performance of the prospective employee in the workplace, prior to proper engagement. Employees receive a weekly allowance of 80% of the minimum wage. Employers participating in this scheme are exempted from paying social security contributions, wages and sick leave benefits​.

Investing in Skills Scheme

The Investing in Skills (IIS) Scheme promotes the training of employed individuals to increase job productivity and enhance adaptability. Employers applying for this Scheme under the 2nd Call (opened on 8 February 2021) will be eligible to receive a subsidy of €25.85 per trainee per hour in the case of training costs and €5.20 for wage costs. The subsidy for wage costs is eligible for training that is held as Classroom Style Training and E-Learning Online Training (Live Sessions).

Traineeship Scheme

Locally funded scheme aimed to encourage vocational training (pre-employment training) to obtain the knowledge, skills and competences required for specific jobs. The format follows a combination of theoretical and on-the-job training by approved entities.

Work exposure Scheme​

Scheme provides training allowance for on-the-job training, which is calculated on the national minimum wage – up to a maximum of 12 weeks and for an average of 20 weekly hours. Applicants must be unemployed (no PT work allowed).​

Work placement Scheme

This scheme provides training allowances for accredited training followed by on-the-job training, which is calculated on the national minimum wage – up to a maximum of 26 weeks and for an average of 30 weekly hours. ​

Mature workers Scheme

Promotes access to employment for unemployed aged between 45-65, up to a maximum of €11,600 (€5,800 per annum) in tax deductions on chargeable income for the first two years of employment. Employers who engage eligible employees may benefit from a further tax deduction of 50% of the cost of training up to a maximum of €400 per employee.​

Tax incentive Scheme​

Through this scheme employers can benefit from deductions of up to €600 on taxable income for each hands-on-training placements of 26 weeks or more. Placements must be offered to participants within the Youth Guarantee Scheme, Traineeships, Work Exposure and Work Placement Schemes.

Training Pays Scheme​

This EU co-funded scheme aims to assist individuals to develop and/or improve their skills by participating in further off-the-job education and training. The scheme offers a grant of 75% of the cost of training, capped at €1000, to individuals to follow an accredited course up to MQF level 5, offered by a licensed Training Service Provider.

MDB Covid-19 Guarantee Scheme

The objective of this scheme is to enable companies which have been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic to access commercial lending facilities for their working capital requirements. Through this scheme MDB provides guarantees to commercial banks and promote bank financing. for working capital requirements of SMEs and large enterprises. A €350 million guarantee fund has been allocated to enable commercial banks in Malta provide loans to entities facing cashflow difficulties due to the pandemic’s effect. 

The Covid-19 Guarantee scheme provide a guarantee of up to 90% of the working capital facility as extended by the bank. Small or medium sized undertaking can receive a maximum loan of €10 million while large undertakings' limit is €25 million. This scheme is open until 30th September 2021 with commercial banks taking final sanctioning decision.

Covid-19 small loans guarantee scheme

The scheme’s objective is to facilitate the access for commercial lending to small businesses under the MDB Covid-19 Guarantee Scheme without the need to provide commercial banks with high levels of personal guarantees. This scheme provides protection to commercial banks for the 10% of the loan which is not covered by the 90% guarantee.

This scheme is a sub-scheme of the CGS and may apply to loans with a maximum value of €250,000 that are sanctioned under the scheme after 29 July 2020. Loans to SMEs with a value less than € 250,000 which were sanctioned before 29 July 2020 are also eligible for this benefit, as long as the agreement is amended to reflect the new conditions.

Covid-19 Interest Rate Subsidy

This subsidy applies automatically to those businesses which have working capital loans approved by commercial banks under the CGS. These businesses are granted up to 2.5% points on the loan interest for the initial two years of the loan while the borrower must pay an interest of at least 0.1% on the loan, net of the guarantee fee.