This is for research into the technical or commercial feasibility of a foreign investment in your product. This research increases the chance that a potential customer wants to invest in your technology, capital good or service. The conditions are:

• There must be sufficient clarity about the size of the market, the intended design of the project, the location, the operation, the financing and the local impact.
• A feasibility study yields a business plan or project plan.
• The maximum duration of a feasibility study is 2 years.
• Within three years, the expected export must be at least 10 times higher than the subsidy amount.

This is for research into the technical and commercial feasibility of your investment in a company. The investment preparation study yields a business plan. The conditions are:

• The intended investment is in line with the activities of your current company and aims at strengthening it.
• You do not have to enter into a sustainable partnership with a local investing party (such as a joint venture). Making a business plan for a 100% subsidiary is also sufficient to qualify for this scheme.
• If there is an intended joint venture, the investment partner must already be known.
• It is plausible that you and any other applicant parties bear the costs of the investment preparation study.
• It is plausible that the intended investment can be financed.
• Expected exports to emerging markets are at least 10 times the value of the subsidy.

Difference feasibility study and investment preparation project

If you want to investigate the feasibility of a project, you can do this by means of a feasibility study and an investment preparation project. We are happy to explain the differences. With a feasibility project, the initiative lies with the foreign partner. He or she is interested in your product or service and the study will show whether the purchase is feasible. With an investment preparation project, the initiative lies with the Dutch entrepreneur.

For whom is the DHI subsidie?

The DHI subsidy is intended for SME entrepreneurs in the Netherlands and the Dutch Caribbean. The sector in which you operate has no influence on this.

How much is the subsidy?

• Demonstration projects: Eligible is 50% of the costs with a maximum of € 200,000;
• Feasibility and investment preparation study: Eligible is 50% of the costs with a maximum of € 100,000;
• For projects aimed at fragile states or focus countries, a higher subsidy percentage of 60% of the eligible costs applies. The focus countries are Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, Palestinian Territories, Senegal, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Tunisia and South Sudan.

When is the deadline?

Applications for the DHI subsidy can be submitted from January 1 to December 31, 2023. Applications will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis. For 2023, €4.5 million is available for activities in emerging and developed markets and €4 million for activities in developing countries.