Non-Refundable Funding for Business Digitalisation: How to Finance AI, RPA and IT Investments

Practical guide for SMEs | Updated: 5 September 2026

Quick answer: Non-reimbursable funding can reduce the financial burden of business digitalisation, but eligibility, funding intensity, budget limits and eligible costs depend on the specific programme and call. A strong digitalisation project connects the technology solution from the start with business objectives, eligibility rules and the programme documentation.

Contents

• What is non-reimbursable funding for digitalisation?
• Why funding matters for digital transformation
• Which IT solutions can be included?
• How to build a strong digitalisation project
• What to do and what to avoid
• How ROBORA can help
• Frequently asked questions

What is non-reimbursable funding for digitalisation?

Non-reimbursable funding is financial support provided through specific European or national programmes for projects that meet predefined conditions. In the digitalisation area, EU programmes support SME competitiveness, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, digital skills and the adoption of advanced technologies. There is no single funding percentage that applies to every project: each call defines its own rules, ceilings, co-financing requirements and eligible costs.

For a company searching for “non-reimbursable funding for digitalisation”, the right question is not only “how much funding can I get?” but also “which investment is eligible, for what business result, and under which rules?”. That framing leads to stronger decisions and stronger applications.

Why funding matters for digital transformation

For an SME, funding can turn digital transformation from a postponed investment into an implementable project. The real value, however, is not the grant itself. A strong project connects the budget with measurable outcomes: less time spent on repetitive work, fewer errors, better traceability, integrated systems and greater scalability.

• Less time spent on manual and repetitive work.
• More standardised and measurable processes.
• Better integration of data across systems and teams.
• More scalability without a proportional increase in administrative workload.

Which IT solutions can be included?

• RPA and AI process automation for repetitive and operational workflows.
• Artificial intelligence and AI agents for processes involving analysis, decisions or interaction with multiple systems.
• Intelligent document processing and data extraction.
• CRM, ERP, email, document management and other business-system integrations.
• Chatbots and conversational AI solutions.
• Websites and other digital components when eligible under the specific call.

Important: the fact that a technology supports digitalisation does not automatically make it eligible under a given call. Eligibility must be checked against the official programme documentation.

How to build a strong digitalisation project

1. Start with the business objective, not the technology. Define what you want to improve.

2. Check company and investment eligibility for the specific call.

3. Map the processes and define which IT solutions are economically justified.

4. Build the budget and KPIs so the investment, activities and expected results are coherent.

5. Prepare and submit the required documentation according to the programme rules.

6. After approval, implement, test, train users and monitor results.

What to do and what to avoid

Recommended

• Document the current problem and expected benefit.
• Define KPIs before implementation.
• Choose solutions based on process and outcomes, not trends.
• Verify eligible costs and call-specific conditions.
• Maintain traceability for documents, decisions and deliverables.

Avoid

• Do not assume every software solution is eligible.
• Do not present a generic funding percentage as a guarantee for every project.
• Do not build the project solely around a vendor or product without a business case.
• Do not leave technical implementation to the last stage; it should be designed into the project from the beginning.

How ROBORA can help

ROBORA combines funding consultancy with IT expertise and digitalisation delivery. The team offer support from identifying the relevant opportunity and selecting suitable IT solutions, through documentation and the funding process, to implementation of the IT solutions. There are projects with funding of up to 90%, subject to the applicable programme and project conditions.

ROBORA services: Non-refundable financing of up to 90%: https://robora.io/en/non-refundable-funds/ | RPA & AI Agents: https://robora.io/en/robotic-process-automation/

Frequently asked questions

Who can benefit from non-reimbursable funding? 

It depends on the call. Many programmes target SMEs, but the exact rules covering company size, registered activities, financial status, location and investment type must be checked in the programme guide.

Can AI and process automation be funded? 

Programmes explicitly include or, under certain conditions, allow investment in AI, automation, cloud, software and digitalisation. Eligibility must be assessed against the specific call.

How much of a project can be funded? 

There is no universal percentage. There are fundings of up to 90%, while the actual percentage depends on the programme and the project.

Do I need an approved project already? 

Not necessarily. ROBORA can support both companies preparing to access funding and companies that already have an approved project and need help selecting and delivering IT solutions.

How should I start? 

Start with a business-needs assessment, then review the open calls and their eligibility rules. For a coherent project, the technical solution and funding strategy should be designed together.