SME digitalisation: HUF 30.7bn awarded – next steps

According to the Hajdú-Bihar County Chamber of Commerce and Industry, more than 3,300 Hungarian micro and small businesses have been awarded a total of HUF 30.7 billion in non-repayable grants under two DIMOP Plusz calls for applications. For successful applicants, the practical question now is how to turn a grant award into improvements that support day-to-day operations. This means not only choosing equipment and software, but also thinking through the implementation process and the expected business outcomes.

Separate funding allocations for businesses in Budapest and elsewhere

According to the Hajdú-Bihar County Chamber of Commerce and Industry's report, 3,100 businesses outside Budapest were awarded a total of HUF 28.7 billion. The chamber says that more than 200 businesses in the capital received awards totalling close to HUF 2 billion. These figures represent grants awarded: they should not automatically be treated as money already paid out or spent.

The previously announced funding allocation should also be distinguished from the amount covered by grant award decisions. According to the Grants Portal's announcement about the B-26 call, the planned budget for the scheme outside Budapest was HUF 30 billion. This is a different figure from the funding allocated to successful businesses in the chamber's report.

A grant award does not mean a new opportunity to apply

News of grant awards should not be confused with the opening of a new application period. According to the Grants Portal's suspension notice, the funding requested under the Budapest DIMOP Plusz-1.2.6/C-26 call reached 130 per cent of the available budget. The portal states that applications were suspended from 17:00 on 2 September 2026.

Businesses that have not yet applied should therefore start by checking the current status of the relevant call, rather than relying on an earlier announcement. For those that have already secured funding, reviewing their own grant documents and the conditions that apply to them can provide a sound basis for the next steps.

What can the money fund, and what does each system do?

According to Bitport's report, eligible developments may include hardware purchases and the introduction of CRM and ERP systems, cybersecurity solutions and systems based on artificial intelligence. However, this list does not replace checking the costs and technical scope of the specific project. A broadly mentioned development area does not mean that every related product or service is eligible for funding.

A CRM is a customer relationship management system: it can, for example, help businesses keep track of prospects, quotations and customer relationship tasks. An ERP is an enterprise resource planning system that can connect several areas of business operations. The best starting point when choosing a system is therefore not its acronym or novelty, but the workflow the business wants to organise more effectively.

As an illustrative example, if a company tracks the status of quotations across separate spreadsheets and email exchanges, it is worth first clarifying how quotations should be managed. If the difficulty lies instead in coordinating stock and orders, a different system may take priority. These are possible business scenarios, not automatically eligible project templates.

Even a high funding rate calls for a business cost plan

Pályáz.hu's overview describes grants of between HUF 3 million and HUF 12 million and a funding rate of 90 per cent. This general information should be read alongside the call and grant award decision applicable to the business. The funding rate alone does not reveal the full cost of the development to the company.

Business planning should account separately for procurement, data migration, staff training and subsequent operation. It is also useful to ask what subscriptions, support or internal staff time may be needed after implementation. These are planning considerations, not statements about whether individual items are eligible costs under the grant.

• Scope of procurement: exactly what equipment, licences and services does the quotation include?
• Implementation tasks: who will prepare the data, and who will check and accept the delivery?
• Ongoing operation: who can be contacted if something goes wrong, and what will subsequent charges be?
• Internal responsibility: who will ensure that staff actually use the new solution?

Plan for the digital assessment from the start of the project

According to information from the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Modern Enterprises Programme, applicants must complete initial and final digital assessments in the system used to measure SMEs' digital intensity. The chamber's guidance gives 30 September 2028 as the final deadline for physical completion. When scheduling a specific project, businesses must also take account of the commitments recorded in their own documents.

Recording the starting position is also useful from a business perspective: without it, judging what the development has changed is harder. It is worth setting out in advance which workflow should become easier to follow, where the business wants less manual data entry, or which tasks it wants to track more systematically. Monitoring a business's own objectives does not, however, replace the assessment required by the programme.

AI implementation should also address a specific task

Artificial intelligence alone is too broad a development objective. A better starting point may be to identify a clearly defined task, such as making internal documents searchable or preparing draft texts. These are illustrative examples of use; their eligibility for funding can be assessed against the conditions of the specific project.

Before choosing a system, it is worth clarifying what data it would work with, who would check its responses and what would happen if it produced an incorrect result. An equally important question is how the new solution would fit with existing software. A well-defined pilot can reveal more about usability than an impressive demonstration.

The goal should be successful implementation, not simply procurement

For successful applicants, a useful next step may be to draw up a short implementation plan: what problem they are solving, who is responsible, how the solution will be introduced and how the results will become apparent. Compliance with grant requirements and practical business usability should be considered in parallel. This article provides general information, not advice on an individual grant application or a financial or legal opinion; interpreting specific costs and commitments may require the involvement of an appropriate professional.