"Funding for Cyber" - supporting the uptake and dissemination of state-of-the-art cybersecurity solutions by SMEs.
ClosedDescription
The purpose of this “Funding for Cyber” call is to assist Belgian beneficiaries, such as start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs and/or mid-caps, in the uptake or development of digital innovation The topic theme for this call will be “Developing infrastructure or digital awareness tools using state-of-the-art technologies providing essential capabilities related to cybersecurity for SMEs.” This thematic topic may encompass, but is not limited to, the following features: creating infrastructures that offer cloud computing services, free data backups and/or a reliable domain name system; creating multi-factor authentication solutions; creating IT solutions for cybersecurity awareness based on artificial intelligence, using interactive lessons and/or game-based learning techniques and allowing users to track Targeted beneficiaries The primary targeted beneficiaries of this Financial Support programme are organizations (private companies, SMEs, start-ups – non exhaustive list) that possess demonstrable expertise in either: the creation and delivery of cybersecurity awareness content, or the development and deployment of cybersecurity-related infrastructure tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The beneficiary organizations will receive support to design, implement, or scale solutions aimed at improving the cybersecurity posture of SMEs. End users While the direct recipients of the financial support are the expert organizations mentioned above, the ultimate beneficiaries/end users of the supported solutions are Belgian SMEs. These SMEs are expected to benefit through: increased access to user-friendly digital awareness tools - helping to educate staff on safe cyber practices, or through the adoption of essential cybersecurity infrastructure that enhances their digital resilience.
Beneficiary & submission
Submission
- Proposals must be submitted before the deadline for applications. All applications and supporting documents must be received by the 8th December 2025.
- Proposals must be submitted electronically via email to the ncc@ccb.belgium.be email address, using the provided template, accessible via the NCC-BE page on the CCB website and under the cascade funding call on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
- Proposals (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the instructions provided on the NCC-BE page of the CCB website and on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
- Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information, all required annexes and supporting documents as indicated on the NCC-BE page of the CCB website and on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
- Proposals must be readable, accessible and printable.
Evaluation
Financial capacity
In line with Article 10, §1(2) of the Royal Decree, the financial capacity assessment is part of the evaluation of the feasibility of implementation. The following principles apply:
- The applicant must demonstrate it can sustain the development of the project based on its financial status;
- The assessment may include indicators such as available equity, absence of insolvency, and reasonable proportion of project cost to entity scale;
- Newly established or smaller applicants are not to be excluded automatically if they can credibly show they can deliver the project.
Operational capacity
Applicants must have the know-how, qualifications and resources to successfully implement the projects and contribute their share (including sufficient experience in projects dedicated to cybersecurity awareness or creating infrastructures for SMEs). This capacity will be assessed together with the ‘Implementation’ award criterion, on the basis of the competence and experience of the applicants and their project teams, including operational resources (human, technical and other).
Award criteria
Project applications must clearly describe the activities to be performed as well as results to be obtained. The award criteria for cascade funding project applications are as follows:
- Impact
- Availability
- Relevance
- Implementation
The award criteria for cascade funding will be assessed, and for each award criterion an individual score in points will be applied. The maximum number of points that can be obtained is 5 points per award criterion, and 20 points in total for all award criteria together. The individual thresholds per criterion are 3 out of 5 points. The overall threshold is thus 12 points. Proposals that pass the individual thresholds and the overall threshold will be considered for funding, within the limits of the available budget (i.e. up to the budget ceiling). Other proposals will be rejected. In case of more than one project reaching an equal overall score, priority will be given to projects with the highest score for the award criterion “Impact”. In case of an equal score on the award criterion “Impact”, priority will be given to projects with the highest score for the award criterion “Availability”, and subsequently the award criteria “Relevance” and “Implementation”.
More information on those criteria can be found on the NCC-BE page
Notification
Successful applicants will be notified of their results by email and will be invited to agree on the terms and conditions of the funding including monitoring, reporting and auditing provisions. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified of their result. In addition, the outcome of the call will be published on the NCC-BE page on the CCB website (https://ccb.belgium.be/), including a description of the selected projects, award dates, project durations, and final recipient legal names and countries.