Cantabria opens 70,000 euros in grants to digitalize retail trade

The Ministry of Industry, Employment, Innovation and Trade of the Government of Cantabria has opened a call for grants endowed with 70,000 euros to promote the implementation of online sales channels in the region’s retail trade. The call is published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria number 174, dated September 9, 2026, through Order IND/43/2026, dated August 31 (reference CVE-2026-7016), signed by the minister Eduardo Arasti Barca.

The grants, under a competitive concurrence regime and abbreviated procedure, are aimed at small businesses and freelancers in the retail trade sector with a fixed physical establishment or street vending open to the public in Cantabria. The objective is to favor the digital transformation of local commerce, which faces “significant challenges derived from the digital transformation of the economy and the evolution of consumption habits,” as stated in the order.

Amounts and conditions

The funding, charged to budget application 12.07.431A.773 of the Law 4/2026 of the Cantabria Budgets, establishes a minimum eligible investment of 1,500 euros (excluding VAT). The amounts per beneficiary are:

• Up to 50% of the eligible expenditure, with a maximum of 5,000 euros, as a general rule.
• Up to 60% (maximum 5,000 euros) for companies adhered to the Consumer Arbitration System through the Consumer Arbitration Board of Cantabria and belonging to an association registered in the Registry of Merchant Associations of Cantabria.
• If there is a surplus, the intensity may be increased up to 70% (general) or 80% (with the previous requirements), with a maximum of 9,000 euros per beneficiary.

Eligible actions

The funds cover a wide range of actions linked to the development or improvement of an online sales channel:

• Design, development, implementation, or redesign of websites with online sales functionalities.
• E-commerce systems with digital catalogs, shopping carts, order management, secure payment gateways, and customer service.
• Integration of online sales with business management systems (ERP) and digital marketing and CRM tools.
• Development or adaptation of mobile applications oriented towards electronic marketing.
• Connection with marketplace platforms or third-party sales channels, software licenses, domains, SSL certificates, and IT security solutions.

Excluded, among others, are expenses for computer equipment, telephones, VAT, current expenses, and own personnel. Invoices lower than 100 euros will not be taken into account.

Requirements and deadline

Beneficiaries may include small businesses and freelancers with a workforce of fewer than 50 people and a turnover or balance sheet of less than 10 million euros, who carry out their activity in a permanent physical establishment open to the public located in Cantabria, and whose main activity is listed under the Economic Activities Tax (IAE) headings provided for in the order (retail trade, repairs, hairdressers, laundries, travel agencies, among others).

The deadline for submitting applications is 15 calendar days starting from the day following the publication of the call summary in the Official Gazette of Cantabria (reference CVE-2026-7023, BDNS 927545). Applications shall be submitted using the official form in Annex I, preferably electronically through the Autonomous Community’s headquarters, and will be resolved in strict order of receipt until the credit is exhausted.

The call is based on the regulatory bases of Order IND/40/2026, of August 7 (BOC no. 157, of August 17), and is subject to the de minimis regime of Regulation (EU) 2023/2831. With this line, the Cantabrian Executive seeks to enable thousands of local businesses to incorporate technological tools to market their products online and develop omnichannel sales strategies, reinforcing the competitiveness of a key sector for the region’s economic fabric.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 174, September 9, 2026, section Department of Industry, Employment, Innovation and Trade, page 44698 (official reference: CVE-2026-7016).