Our goal is to help companies create innovative, functional, and visually distinctive products that stand out on the market. With our support, you have the chance to secure the funding you need to grow your business and make your products more competitive. Browse the current programs below, and we’ll advise you on which one fits you best!
Industrial design grants
Are you looking for ways to fund your business growth through investment in industrial design? We can help you secure funding for industrial design.
Industrial Design Grants 2026
Calls for Applications and Funding in 2026:
EU funding for industrial design — European Funds supporting innovation
Industrial design plays an increasingly important role in business growth. A well-designed product can catch customers’ attention and stand out on the market. That is why many companies want to invest in developing their design — but often lack the funds to do it. Fortunately, there are ways to secure EU funding for industrial design projects, including new product design. This kind of funding lets businesses grow and become more competitive.
It is worth noting that securing funding means meeting specific requirements and criteria — but still it is achievable for many companies. If you are interested in securing funding for an industrial design project, contact us and let us help you.
Have questions?
We’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.
How do we work?
Stage 1. Before you apply
1. Initial analysis. We assess your company’s design potential — your product offering, the technology, the organizational structure, and the market position. We also verify formal eligibility: SME status, location, and other conditions for the call.
2. Program selection. We identify the funding measure that best fits your project, along with the schedule for the upcoming call.
3. Project assumptions. We define the design scope that will form the basis of the application — which product, what level of innovation, what implementation outcomes.
4. Expert support with the application. Our partner company prepares and submits the documentation; we handle the design-related section and price the advisory services covered by the funding.
Stage 2. Evaluation and contract
5. Application review and contract signing. The institution evaluates the project, and once approved, you sign the funding agreement. We stay in touch throughout and are getting ready to begin work.
Stage 3. Project delivery
6. Design audit. The first funded stage of the project. We examine the company’s design potential — its products, processes, customers, and competitors.
7. Design strategy. Based on the audit, we produce a document outlining the direction for product development and recommended design actions.
8. Design work and prototyping. We design the product according to the strategy agreed upon, build prototypes, and prepare technical documentation for production.
9. Implementation and settlement. We support you through the purchase of fixed assets and intangible assets, all the way to launching the product and settling the grant.
Design grants for businesses — why they are worth pursuing
- EU funding lets you make the most of your company’s design potential — directly boosting the competitiveness of your products.
- Launching a product is the most expensive and uncertain moment for a manufacturing company. Funding shifts part of that risk off your company’s balance sheet, so the decision to move forward gets made sooner than if you financed it entirely out of your own capital.
- You gain access to expertise that you do not have in-house. Hiring a full-time product designer only pays off with a steady pipeline of new launches. A grant lets you bring in a full design team for the duration of a specific project.
- You get your product line in order. A design audit diagnoses the whole company — the products, the technology, the processes, and the customers. It is only at this stage that many businesses discover which items in their catalog do not earn their keep, and where the untapped potential lies.
- You get ahead of regulatory requirements. Grant programs award points for eco-design and for making products accessible to people with special needs. Those same requirements are gradually being written into EU law — so a company that implements them now, with funding, avoids a costly redesign a few years down the line, paid entirely out of the pocket.
Which programs have provided design funding in the past?
- Operational Programme Eastern Poland. Measure 1.4 Design for Competitiveness
- Smart Growth Operational Programme 2014–2020. Sub-measure 2.3.5 Design for Entrepreneurs
- Smart Growth Operational Programme 2014–2020, financed by the European Regional Development Fund. Measure 2.1 Support for
- Investment in Enterprise R&D Infrastructure
- Smart Growth Operational Programme. Measure 2.3 Pro-innovation Services for Enterprises. Sub-measure 2.3.5 Design for Entrepreneurs
FAQ
How much funding can you get?
The amount of support depends on the programme, the type of project, the size of the company and the location of the investment.
Under FENG 2.33 – Loan for the Production of Dual-Use Products, the funding intensity may range from 25% to 70% of eligible costs. The minimum value of eligible project costs is PLN 2 million, while the maximum corresponds to the equivalent of EUR 50 million.
Under the SMART Path – R&D, the maximum amount of funding for a single project is PLN 50 million. Support may reach up to 80% of eligible costs for industrial research and up to 60% for experimental development, provided that the conditions set out in the call documentation are met.
For the FENG Technology Loan, support may also range from 25% to 70% of eligible costs. The maximum value of eligible costs is the equivalent of EUR 50 million, and no minimum threshold has been set.
Is the grant non-repayable?
It depends on the programme.
Under the SMART Path – R&D, support is provided in the form of a grant for the implementation of research and development activities. If the project is completed correctly and the terms of the funding agreement are met, the funding is not repayable.
In the case of FENG 2.33 – Loan for the Production of Dual-Use Products, support is provided in the form of a WPPZ premium, which is used to repay part of the principal of the investment loan taken out to finance the project. It is therefore not a standard grant paid directly to the company for unrestricted use.
The FENG Technology Loan works in a similar way. The technology premium is used to repay part of the principal of the technology loan granted by the bank financing the investment. The remaining part of the loan must be repaid by the company in accordance with the terms agreed with the bank.
The exact form of support and settlement rules should always be checked in the documentation of the specific call.
Who can apply for funding?
This depends on the programme, as each call defines its own group of eligible applicants and additional project requirements.
Under FENG 2.33 – Loan for the Production of Dual-Use Products, support is available to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Poland. The company must have sufficient creditworthiness, and the project should concern the launch or expansion of production of an eligible dual-use product.
The SMART Path – R&D call for SMEs is addressed to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises conducting business activity in Poland. The project must include genuine R&D work, lead to an innovation at least on a national scale and fall within at least one National Smart Specialisation.
The FENG Technology Loan is available to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that want to implement their own or acquired new technology. The company must have the right to use the technology and sufficient creditworthiness, as the support is linked to a loan granted by a bank cooperating with BGK.
Detailed eligibility requirements should always be checked in the documentation of the current call, as they may differ between subsequent editions of the same programme.
Is a design audit mandatory?
Not in every programme. In the case of FENG 2.33, SMART Path – R&D and the FENG Technology Loan, an industrial design audit is not a mandatory, separate stage of the project.
What matters is the scope of work and the objective of the specific programme. Under FENG 2.33, the focus is on preparing a product for production launch. Under SMART Path – R&D, the project must involve genuine research and development work on a new or significantly improved solution. Under the Technology Loan, the focus is on implementing a new technology.