The IFEF approves Cádiz Renueva: 20,000 euros per SME with ERDF funds

The Institute for Development, Employment and Training (IFEF) of the Cádiz City Council has approved the regulatory bases for the Cádiz Renueva program, which will distribute non-repayable grants of up to 85% of the investment and a maximum of 20,000 euros per beneficiary among freelancers and SMEs in the trade, hospitality, and tourism sectors. The agreement was adopted by the organization’s Governing Council in its session on September 9, 2026, under the second item of the agenda. The bases are published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Cádiz number 205, dated October 23, 2026, with reference no. 347,574.

The bases develop action A1 of the project P04. Dynamic and Prosperous Neighborhood, integrated into the Integrated Action Plan (PAI) Europe Transforms Our Neighborhoods. The Cádiz City Council has a ERDF financial path of 11,948,905 euros for the 2021-2027 period, with a co-financing rate of 85%, within the framework of the Pluriregional Program of Spain and Order HAC/1072/2024, of October 2.

The program is structured into two project typologies: P1-Business Creation, for the opening of new establishments, and P2-Business Modernization, for renovations, digitalization, accessibility, and energy efficiency of existing premises. Associations and foundations with economic activity and tobacco marketing companies are excluded.

Amounts, limits, and obligations

• Up to 85% of the eligible investment, with a ceiling of 20,000 euros per beneficiary and a single application per interested party.
• Minimum contribution of 15% of the investment, free of any aid.
• De minimis regime: maximum of 300,000 euros per company in any three-year period.
• Execution period of 12 months from the submission of the application and three months for justification.
• Advance of up to 25% of the aid via bank guarantee; the remainder is paid after justification.
• Resolution within a maximum of six months, with negative administrative silence.

Funding is available for works and installations, equipment and furniture, digitalization—point-of-sale terminals, management software, e-commerce, cybersecurity—and other productive investments linked to the activity. Recoverable VAT, current expenses, rents, leasing, second-hand goods, and the purchase of premises are not permitted.

Priority for six waterfront neighborhoods

The territorial alignment criterion distributes 35 of the 100 points and rewards establishing the business in Loreto, Puntales, Barriada de la Paz, Guillén Moreno, Cerro del Moro, and Segunda Aguada, neighborhoods declared disadvantaged areas by the Andalusian Regional Strategy for Cohesion and Social Inclusion (ERACIS).

The activity sector is weighted up to 25 points —retail 25, hospitality 10, tourism 5—, the economic and employment impact up to 20, and the project volume up to 20, with brackets ranging from 5 points for investments up to 3,000 euros to 20 points for those above 23,529.41 euros. Additionally, micro-enterprise status, job creation by the promoters, and groups such as women, people over 45, under 30, or people with functional diversity are valued.

Processing and Call for Applications

The call will be published via an extract in the BOP of Cádiz and in the National Grants Database, and the application deadline will be set in that announcement. The processing is the responsibility of the Vice Presidency of the IFEF and the resolution belongs to the President of the organization, with the support of a valuation commission chaired by the Vice Presidency and composed of the Management and the heads of Economic Promotion and Training and Employment.

The guidelines enter into force the day following their publication, and an administrative appeal may be filed against them before the Plenary of the City Council of Cádiz within one month. The announcement was signed in Cádiz on October 8, 2026, by the delegated secretary of the IFEF, José Antonio Rosado Arroyal.

The call arrives with the commercial fabric of the Cádiz seafront as the primary target: neighborhood micro-SMEs will be able to apply for aid that covers almost the entire investment, but requires an advance of 15% and the execution of the project within one year. The margin is narrow and the competitive process, with a scale based on location and sector, will decide which establishments are renovated with European funds.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Cádiz, no. 205, October 23, 2026, section I, pp. 5-12 (official reference: no. 347,574).