This scheme seeks to address the need to support SMEs in financing projects related to cybersecurity. The scheme will remain open until 29th December 2023, or an earlier date depending on absorption of the total budget of €2,000,000. The scheme shall be managed on a demand driven basis. The NCC-MT shall issue four public open calls (open rolling-calls) for interested eligible undertakings to submit their applications, cut-off dates being 20th July 2023, 14th September 2023, 9th November 2023, and 29th December 2023. Grants shall be awarded on a first come first served basis, subject to budget availability. The aid intensity applied is 80% whereby the maximum grant that an SME can benefit from is €60,000. The investment project proposal must include a comprehensive budget breakdown that in total amounts to at least €20,000 to be eligible for funding. Eligible projects will receive a pre-financing aid of 20% and the remaining 80% will be reimbursed upon full completion of project. Implementation of projects should be completed by not later than 30th September 2024. This means that the investment should result in the SME advancing the status of its existing cybersecurity capacity through the implementation of new solutions that must be focused on at least one of the five investment areas: vulnerability management, identity and access management, end-to-end data protection, threat detection and response, and enhanced cloud-based platform security. For each, eligible costs include cybersecurity solutions; hardware; subscriptions, license fees and managed services; staff training; and implementation. Ms Vanessa Macdonald, the moderator, will be entering into a one-hour discussion with NCC MITA representatives with a view to understanding how the financial services industry can benefit from this scheme. Delegates will be able to ask their own questions too.