Applications are now open for SIDART - Incentive System for the Development of Azorean Handicrafts, with a budget of €200,000.

According to the Order of the Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment, Maria João Carreiro, published in the Official Gazette, applications must be submitted exclusively online by March 31st, through the Azores Handicraft digital platform at artesanato.azores.gov.pt.

This incentive system aims to promote the sustainable development of handicraft activity within the regional economy, through a set of measures designed to strengthen the quality of production and the competitiveness of Azorean handicraft businesses.

Through SIDART, investments are funded in projects for capacity building, qualification and innovation of handicraft products, marketing and promotion, as well as investments in production structures and equipment for Artisanal Production Units.

In May 2022, the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition government revisited the regulations of this unique incentive system in the country, aiming to provide “greater suitability to the needs and expectations of artisans and to guarantee even better conditions so that they can continue investing in the creation and promotion of handicrafts,” emphasizes Maria João Carreiro.

Based on this premise, the new regulations broadened the scope of eligible expenses for co-financing, such as accommodation expenses for participation in fairs or exhibitions and training, with a maximum support limit of 50 euros per day for domestic travel and 90 euros per day for travel abroad for these purposes.

The grants under the SIDART program, for which applications open annually, range from a minimum of 200 euros to a maximum of 20,000 euros, non-refundable, up to a limit of 50% of eligible expenses for applications from the islands of São Miguel and Terceira, and 60% for the other islands of the archipelago (Santa Maria, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico, Faial, Flores and Corvo).