Government approves measures to support competitiveness, exports and internationalisation

The Council of Ministers approved the Reforçar [Reinforce] Programme, a set of measures to assist with companies’ competitiveness, exports, and the internationalisation of the Portuguese economy in response to the challenges posed by the international context.

The programme envisages the allocation of up to 10 billion euros through financial instruments for companies that export are present internationally, focusing especially on market diversification.

Among the main measures we find:

• Boosting the funding lines by the Portuguese Development Bank (BPF) to a total sum of 5.185 billion euros for operating funds and corporate investment

• A new line of funding to a sum of 3.5 billion euros, including 400 million in grants, aimed at investment by exporting companies

• Increasing the ceilings on loans on exports, a sum of 1.2 billion euros to support market diversification via the BPF’s Loans on Exports Agency

• A new incentive programme under Portugal 2030 to a sum of 200 million euros to assist internationalisation and exports. Of this amount, 150 million are specifically for small and medium-sized companies.

The Reforçar programme will be complemented by bids to be launched in 2025 to a sum of 2.64 billion euros under Portugal 2030 and the RRF, focusing on areas such as innovation, decarbonisation, qualification, and productive investment.

The programme’s implementation will be monitored by an interministerial Working Group, coordinated by the Portuguese Development Bank.