The Financial Instrument for Innovation and Competitiveness of companies in the Azores (IFIC-Açores), financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), received 74 applications corresponding to an investment of more than 252 million euros, it was revealed this Tuesday, 3.
In the document, which the Lusa agency had access to, it is stated that the support program for Azorean companies received 74 applications, “which corresponds to a global investment value of more than 252 million euros”.
Applications for IFIC-Açores were open from December 18th to January 30th.
The program, managed by Banco de Fomento, was integrated into the PRR of the Azores in the reprogramming of the plan, with the Government of the Azores (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) reallocating 40 million euros to the instrument, as announced in November 2025.
In the document, the Secretariat of Finance, Planning and Public Administration highlights the importance of having adapted the instrument to the “regional reality” in order to achieve the “objectives of modernization, competitiveness and economic growth in the region”.
“The high adherence to IFIC, both in terms of the number of applications and the proposed investment amounts, highlights the dynamism of companies and the regional economy and confirms that companies in the Azores have initiatives and are available to implement new projects”, reads the report.
The Regional Secretariat also concludes that companies’ access to the support program was facilitated by the “publicity and proximity effort developed by the regional directorate of Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness”.
“The investments proposed through these applications will have a direct impact on the regional economy, contributing to more wealth, greater business activity and the creation of jobs, with positive effects on cohesion and development”, considers the Azorean executive.
On November 7, the Secretary of Finance of the Azores revealed that regional companies would benefit from their own notice of investment incentives under the IFIC, allowing, “for the first time, the possibility of investment incentives”.
At the time, Duarte Freitas highlighted that, despite the existence of the regional incentive system, “the national solution would not fail to be used”, with 40 million euros being allocated to IFIC with a “specific notice for the Azores”.
IFIC-Açores presented a global allocation of 40 million euros, with “applications being eligible from all sectors of activity with an impact on the regional economy, from companies of all sizes”, according to information provided by the Regional Government.
Leave a Reply