Dutch Government Allocates €1 Million for Cybersecurity SMEs and Research

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) and the European Commission are making available nearly 1 million euros for Dutch SMEs and researchers who want to further develop cybersecurity projects. The government sees digital resilience as a basic requirement to be successful as an entrepreneur. Entrepeneurs could use the grant to train staff or invest in products to improve security.

"Dutch entrepreneurs, and SMEs in particular, play a key role in building a secure cyberinfrastructure. The CIF-NL scheme offers additional support to these Dutch companies. The funding is intended for projects that contribute to the following themes automation of existing cybersecurity solutions, staff retention and training, secure and privacy-friendly data sharing and developing or scaling up new small-scale cybersecurity solutions," the ministry said. 

The grants come from the so-called Cybersecurity Innovation Fund scheme (CIF-NL), which is coordinated by NEXIS, the Dutch point of contact for cybersecurity innovation, and RVO.

Entrepreneurs can apply for grants between 2 October and 2 November 2023. A total of €930,000 is available. A minimum of €25,000 and a maximum of €75,000 can be applied for per project.

Projects need to contribute to:

• Automation of cybersecurity solutions
• Retention and development of staff
• Secure data exchange or
• Small-scale cybersecurity solutions

NEXIS is part of the new EU-wide network of 27 national counters, driven by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC). NEXIS aims to stimulate knowledge exchange and innovation in cybersecurity within the Netherlands and Europe. NEXIS was commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and is co-funded by the EU.

More info in Dutch can be found here.

Photo: Istock.com/William_Potter