Malta’s SMEs face growing challenges amid employee shortage, skills mismatch and unfair competition, SME Barometer® Q1 2025 reveals
28 April 2025
The latest SME Barometer® survey for the first quarter of 2025 reveals that SMEs continue...
KPMG in Malta, through its Public Sector and EU Advisory team and in collaboration with the Malta Chamber of SMEs, organised two information sessions focused on EU funding and incentives. With the current EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) running until 2027, this is a timely opportunity for businesses to tap into EU funds, particularly via the Business Enhance Grant Schemes under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Over 70 participants from a wide range of sectors attended the sessions. Kicking off with an interactive polling session led by Martina Spiteri (Advisor), it was revealed that while most attendees had some awareness of EU funding, many still felt unclear about how to access opportunities, where to begin, and the extent of the administrative process involved.
Dylan Felice (Manager) delivered a presentation on the Business Enhance Grant Schemes, including an overview of funding-specific rules and eligibility criteria, and how these grants can support digital transformation, new equipment investment, and service expansion, amongst other initiatives. The importance of early planning, aligning projects with relevant schemes, and understanding eligibility from the outset was clearly outlined.
The sessions also included practical case studies from businesses that successfully applied for funding with KPMG’s guidance. One notable example involved collaboration with KPMG’s Digital Solutions team to develop a strategy that led to funding for both project planning and implementation. Marco Vassallo (Partner and Co-lead of KPMG Digital Solutions) highlighted how similar approaches are enabling businesses to invest in custom digital solutions aligned with both the operational needs and the long-term goals of the company.
Insights were shared into new advisory grant schemes, particularly relevant for SMEs planning to have in place a strategy for marketing, internationalisation, or attaining recognised standards and awards. As part of his presentation, Karl Aquilina (Associate Director) highlighted how these grants reflect a wider effort to improve planning around larger investments, and to make expert advice more accessible to local businesses.
Doreen Fenech (Tax Partner) and Faye Gauci Grech (Senior Manager) presented a complementary stream of support through Malta Enterprise’s tax incentives. These can be accessed either alongside or instead of EU funding, depending on project needs and funding rules. With the right experience and expertise at hand, KPMG is able to assist clients in navigating both EU and local funding avenues to ensure the most strategic fit for their initiatives
The sessions concluded with a networking opportunity, allowing participants to speak directly with KPMG advisors and other business representatives.
KPMG’s EU funding team is available for tailored consultations. To explore current opportunities or plan for upcoming schemes, contact Karl Aquilina at or Dylan Felice at . Additional resources are available on KPMG Malta’s EU funding webpage. This article was originally written by KPMG in Malta.
For more information, visit their EU Funding Services page.
The Malta Chamber of SMEs represents over 7,000 members from over 90 different sectors which in their majority are either small or medium sized companies, and such issues like the one we're experiencing right now, it's important to be united. Malta Chamber of SMEs offers a number of different services tailored to its members' individual requirements' and necessities. These range from general services offered to all members to more individual & bespoke services catered for specific requirements.
A membership with Malta Chamber of SMEs will guarantee that you are constantly updated and informed with different opportunities which will directly benefit your business and help you grow. It also entails you to a number of services which in their majority are free of charge and offered exclusively to its members (in their majority all free of charge).