One of the main mechanisms in combating the social and economic consequences of the pandemic, the Apoiar.pt program has now been strengthened and will include more non-repayable subsidies, revealed the Minister of State and Economy, Pedro Siza Vieira, on Thursday, 14 January. This reinforcement will involve an increase in the maximum limits to be paid, the constitution of extraordinary support and the advance provision of the second tranche, in an effort to “accelerate” that the Government indicates it wants to see effective.

These measures are “so that our companies can protect their factors of production and be ready to respond to demand when it resumes,” explained the minister.

The program, which was launched in November last year, has already covered 41 micro and small companies in the sectors most affected by Covid-19, and has now been extended to medium-sized ones. The Government has 375 million euros for this support, of which 170 million have already been paid. In order to access the mechanism, companies will have to prove that they have suffered annual revenue breaks above 25%.

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