€4,000 cash grant for advisory services to local businesses on Brexit launched by Malta Enterprise

A €4,000 cash grant for advisory services to local businesses on Brexit was launched by Malta Enterprise at a business breakfast organised by them, The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, and the Malta Chamber of SMEs (GRTU) yesterday morning.

The grant, Malta Enterprise CEO Mario Galea said, was aimed at helping those businesses that would be specifically affected by Brexit, who due to their dependence on the British market would need to carry out a close examination for their business model to mitigate the risks of different Brexit scenarios.

The grant would cover 50% of the costs of any advisory support a business would need in relation to Brexit, capped at €4,000, and is ongoing until 31 January 2019.

The measure is open to registered small businesses carrying out economic activity in Malta that at the point of application employs between five and 50 persons on a full time basis.

The applicant would have to justify a significant dependency on the British market in terms of imports or exports, and the Malta Enterprise said that a business shall be considered to have a significant dependency if for the last two years at least 20% of its turnover was dependent on transactions related to the British market.

The new scheme was announced at a business breakfast titled “Brexit: Threats, Challenges and Opportunities”, which saw an address by Economy Minister Chris Cardona, a key note presentation by the Chief Economist at the Institute of International and Economic Affairs Dan O’Brien, and a panel discussion.