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The Malta Chamber of SMEs met Opposition Leader Dr Bernard Grech and a number of Members of Parliament to discuss current issues related to members of the Malta Chamber of SMEs.

SME Chamber President Paul Abela mentioned a number of issues which businesses are currently facing and emphasised the importance of social dialogue and a long term plan for Malta.

President Mr Paul Abela, Deputy President Mr Philip Fenech, CEO Ms Abigail Mamo and Council Member Mr Beppe Muscat participated on behalf the SME Chamber during this meeting.

Malta Chambers of SMEs CEO, Ms. Abigail Agius Mamo, participated in TVM’s program ‘Insights,’ where she discussed the Government’s price stability scheme.

During the discussion, Ms. Mamo expressed the SME Chamber members’ concerns about the scheme and offered alternative solutions to the Government.

Throughout this issue, the SME Chamber supported its members.

The SME Fund, a European Commission initiative implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has been launched once again this year and will run till the 6^th of December 2024. Funds are limited and available on a first come, first served basis. 

The SME Fund offers financial support to SMEs established in the European Union. The application can be filed by an owner, an employee or an authorised representative of an EU SME acting on its behalf.

In this regard, the Commerce Department is collaborating with the EUIPO to offer financial support/grants to those SMEs by providing 75% reimbursement of trademark, design fees and patent fees at EU and national level. The grant consists of a partial reimbursement of costs to the beneficiary, up to a maximum of €1,000 per beneficiary in the case of trademarks and designs and €1,500 per beneficiary in the case of patents.

In 2024, in addition to these services, the SME Fund will also reimburse partially the representation costs charged by legal professionals relating to the preparation and the filing of European patent applications.

Applicants can apply at any point in time until 06/12/2024

The call for proposals have opened according to the timeframe below:

• Call submission period: from 22/01/2024 to 06/12/2024

• Evaluation of the submitted applications during the period: weekly cut-off: every Friday

• Evaluation and notification period: 10 working days from cut-off

The weekly cut-off means that all the applications submitted during the preceding week will go through the evaluation step.

In the event that the EUIPO contacts the applicant during the evaluation process to request complementary information, suspension of the evaluation and notification period takes effect on the date the EUIPO sends the request. The period resumes from the date on which the requested information or revised documents are received.

Applicants will be notified individually about the results of the evaluation process by email to the contact persons provided in the eForm. Therefore, it is responsibility of the applicant to submit the correct email address of the contact person(s).

This notification will contain for:

• Unsuccessful applicants: the reasons for the negative decision;

• Successful applicants: the confirmation of the positive decision and a copy of the Grant Decision (VOUCHER) as attachment.

It is important to note that vouchers are not retroactive, costs for activities executed before getting the grant decision cannot be reimbursed.

Should all the funds be used before the end of the call submission period, the online application system (eForm) will be closed and applicants will be informed accordingly on the SME FUND website. 

Applicants will need to click on https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/online-services/sme-fund and proceed with filling the relative application form. After receiving the voucher, the SME can apply for their trademark and/or design and/or patent on https://ips.gov.mt/ or for an EU application on https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/apply-now and/or https://www.epo.org/en/applying and thereafter, for the reimbursement with the EUIPO.

More details can be found at: https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/online-services/sme-fund

The Malta Chamber of SMEs has been notified that the Mosta project is set to conclude by the end of next week, with the opening of ‘Contituation Street’ for vehicle access. The SME Chamber has been regularly chasing Authorities on this matter as Mosta’s businesses have suffered greatly as a result of the works in Mosta, and the delays were very heavy to bare. It is therefore appreciated to have a commitment from the respective Authorities and we are optimistic that there will be no additional delays.

Over the past few months, businesses faced substantial sales losses and were adversely affected. The Mosta project has places Mosta businesses’ livelihood in serious peril.

With the project now completed and the announcement of the imminent reopening of the main Mosta road, we anticipate a revitalisation of the Mosta business community, leading to a dramatic increase in their viability once again.

Register by Friday 26th January 2024

The UK Mission to the EU in partnership with the UK Skills Partnership, are hosting a UK-EU Green Skills Workshop between 1:30-7pm on Thursday 29^th February in Brussels for UK and EU Skills providers and businesses.

The purpose of the event is to facilitate knowledge-sharing and encourage cooperation on developing skills training which meets the workforce needs of the renewable energy sectors and sustainable construction. The UK and EU are committed to achieving our net zero targets. However, we are both facing a lack of sufficient workers with the specific skills-sets needed to implement net zero technologies, particularly in renewable energy sectors and sustainable construction. This workshop will provide the opportunity for UK and EU skills providers and businesses working in these sectors, to exchange views on the shared challenges which exist to tackling these skills shortages and best practice to overcome these barriers.

In collaboration with the UK Skills Partnership the UK Mission to the EU is hosting a Green Skills Workshop in Brussels between 2-7pm on Thursday 29^th February for UK and EU skills providers and small-medium sized businesses to facilitate knowledge-sharing and encourage cooperation on developing skills training which meets the workforce needs of the renewable energy sectors and sustainable construction.

Skills providers and businesses whose work relates to these sectors who are interested in and available to participate at the event should complete the short Expression Of Interest form available here before 23:59 PM on 26 January.

Please note that the form includes further details of what the event will involve and the full terms and conditions.

Any additional questions can be directed to .

The Malta Chamber of SMEs held the first council meeting for 2024 by discussing a number of issues such as a number of issues currently affecting businesses and the price stability scheme announced by the Government.

Malta Chamber of SMEs met ITS officials to discuss issues reported by its members following the announcement of the introduction of the ‘skills card’.