Are there grants for AI and automation in SMEs?

Is there a grant for AI and automation in SMEs?

Not as one fixed scheme. There is no national grant you apply for because you are going to use AI or automate your administration. There are, however, schemes that part of such a project can fall under. Each scheme has its own purpose:

• Learning and development of your people: the SLIM scheme.
• Innovation: researching or developing a new product, process or new service: the MIT scheme (MKB-innovatiestimulering).
• Developing technically new software yourself: the WBSO, a tax benefit.

There are also smaller and regional schemes. So whether you get anything does not depend on the word ‘AI’. It depends on exactly what you are going to do, who does the work and when you apply.

This is an explanation in plain language, not grant or tax advice. Schemes, amounts and application windows change every year. This article reflects the situation on 22 October 2026. Before you apply, check the website of the organisation that runs the scheme.

Which schemes are there, and for whom?

This overview shows which scheme fits which kind of plan, and how things stood on 22 October 2026.

Does the SLIM grant pay for AI training?

No, SLIM-mkb does not pay for the training itself. In the scheme, training costs are listed among the costs that do not count. SLIM is often called a training grant, but for SMEs it works differently. You can apply for it for three kinds of activity:

1. A review of your business, resulting in a training or development plan. For example: what knowledge does your team need now that it is going to work with AI?
2. Career or development advice for employees, from a career adviser.
3. Developing or introducing a learning method, such as regular development conversations, a company school or an e-learning platform.

For the review and the learning method, the grant is 60 percent of the eligible costs, up to a maximum of 24,999 euros per application. The costs of those activities must together be at least 5,000 euros. The project lasts no more than 12 months. Only costs incurred after the decision on your application count. If it is intended only for the owner or director, you are not eligible.

In 2026 there were two application windows for individual SMEs: from 7 April to 4 May inclusive, and from 19 August to 7 September inclusive. Both have passed. For the August and September window, far more applications came in than there was money for. A draw therefore decided the order. On 22 October 2026 the application windows for 2027 were not yet known. Note: SLIM is not run by RVO (the Netherlands Enterprise Agency), but by Uitvoering van Beleid SZW (the implementing body of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment). The new application windows are published there and in the Staatscourant (the Dutch Government Gazette).

And the SLIM training grant?

That one does contribute to training, but only to training that is on a fixed list, within a recognised development path. It concerns occupations in what the scheme calls ‘socially crucial sectors’, such as engineering, ICT, transport and logistics, and care. The grant is 90 percent for training at NLQF level 1 to 3, and 40 percent for level 4 and above. In 2026, employers can apply until and including 31 December. So an AI course of your choice does not simply qualify.

What your team is legally required to know about AI is explained in AI literacy is mandatory: what do you need to arrange? That obligation applies even if you do not get a grant.

When does the MIT fit an AI project?

The MIT fits if you want to research or develop something new: an innovative product, production process or an innovative service. MIT stands for Mkb-innovatiestimulering Regio en Topsectoren (SME innovation stimulus for regions and top sectors). For SMEs there are two forms.

A feasibility project. You research whether an innovative idea is technically and economically feasible before you start developing it. You apply for this with your province or region, no longer with RVO. In Gelderland, a single SME, not a partnership, could apply in 2026 from 7 April to 15 September inclusive. If the project scored enough points, there was a fixed contribution of 20,000 euros. The province expected the money to run out on the first day. If there are too many applications, a notary decides the order by drawing lots.

An R&D collaboration project. At least two SMEs jointly develop a product, production process or service. The grant is 35 percent of the eligible costs. RVO compares the applications and ranks them. Those who score highest receive a grant until the money runs out. In 2026 there was also a separate round with AI as its theme, for projects with generative AI or machine learning. It ran from 7 April to 26 May 2026 inclusive. Both rounds are now temporarily closed.

It has to be about innovation, not your ordinary business operations. That is how the MIT scheme of Zeeland, Noord-Brabant and Limburg puts it. An innovative production process there is a technologically new process, or a substantially new application of an existing process. Think of a manufacturing company that wants to research whether a new quality check using image recognition is feasible. You can read more about such applications at AI for manufacturing companies. Are you going to introduce an existing software package or connect two systems using well-known technology? Then it is questionable whether that counts as innovation. And do not start before you have applied, because then the application will be rejected.

Does software count for the WBSO?

Yes, software can count, but only if you develop it yourself and it is technically new for your business. The WBSO is not a grant that is paid into your account. It is a tax benefit: you pay less payroll tax for the hours your own people spend on research and development work (S&O). Self-employed people get a deduction in their income tax.

RVO sets requirements including these:

• The development is technically new for your business, and it is uncertain whether it will succeed.
• You expect concrete technical problems that you or your employees solve yourselves.
• You apply in advance. The WBSO can only be used for work that has yet to start.

For automation in SMEs, two points matter. First: work that someone else does for you does not count as your S&O. If you have software built by an external party, those are not S&O hours of your business. Second: a lot of automation uses well-known technology, such as setting up a standard package or connecting systems via their API. Whether there is enough technical uncertainty in that is assessed by RVO for each application. The difference between existing software and custom software is explained under that term.

In 2026 the benefit is 36 percent on the first 391,020 euros of your S&O base, and 16 percent above that. That base is mainly the wages for your S&O hours, possibly with costs and expenses for the project. Start-ups get 50 percent in the first bracket. The last day to apply for WBSO for 2026 was 30 September 2026. You can apply for 2027 from mid-November. According to RVO, the percentages will stay the same in 2027. The coalition agreement announces an expansion for AI and software, but what it will look like is still being studied. The rules are only final once the Senate (Eerste Kamer) has approved them.

Which other schemes are there?

Besides the three big schemes, there are smaller and regional ones. These are the ones you come across most often:

• Mijn cyberweerbare zaak (MCZ). Not AI, but the basis for working safely online. Businesses with a maximum of 50 employees and less than 10 million euros turnover in the past financial year get 50 percent of the purchase price reimbursed, up to a maximum of 1,250 euros. It covers, among other things, two-step verification, a password manager and backups. You first buy, set up and pay for the measure, and then apply, until and including 30 November 2026. Only measures that you purchased, implemented and paid in full after 7 September 2026 count.
• Small-scale investment deduction (Kleinschaligheidsinvesteringsaftrek, KIA). A tax deduction when you invest in business assets. In 2026 it applies to a total investment between 2,901 and 398,236 euros in a year. Ask your accountant whether your investment counts.
• Regional schemes. Provinces and municipalities have their own schemes, sometimes also for digitalisation. Ondernemersplein (the Dutch government's business portal) lists the grant page and the regional development agency for each province, such as Oost NL for Gelderland and Overijssel.
• SME workshops (mkb-werkplaatsen). At an SME workshop, students carry out a digitalisation scan for SMEs as part of their studies: a practical step-by-step plan. The grant scheme for this was for vocational schools (mbo), universities of applied sciences (hbo) and universities, and is closed. As a business owner you do not apply for anything yourself. Ask a workshop in your region whether it is still active, what they do and what it costs.
• European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH). The Netherlands has six, five of which are for businesses. They work on a not-for-profit basis and help businesses with digitalisation, including test facilities, training and access to funding.

Some of these schemes involve de minimis aid, such as SLIM-mkb and the MIT feasibility projects in Gelderland. A single business may receive a maximum of 300,000 euros of such aid over three years. That is why such a scheme asks for a de minimis declaration or about the aid you have already received.

Why can't you count on a grant?

Because with most schemes you do not know in advance whether, when and how much you will get. That is due to four things:

• Short application windows. SLIM-mkb was open twice in 2026, for a few weeks each time. If you miss the window, you wait for the next one.
• A ceiling and a draw. Each window has a fixed budget. For the first SLIM window of 2026 that was 11 million euros. If businesses together apply for more, a draw after the window closes decides the order. Applying early does not help then.
• Apply first, then start. With SLIM-mkb, only costs after the decision count. With the MIT of the southern Netherlands, your application is rejected if you have already started. The WBSO can only be used for work that is still to come. If you wait for a decision, your project is delayed.
• Not all costs count. SLIM-mkb does not pay training costs. For the WBSO, the hours of an external developer do not count as your development hours.

So plan a project in such a way that it is worthwhile even without a grant. If you do get a grant, that is a welcome bonus. If your whole plan depends on it, it rests on shaky ground.

How do you go about it?

Start with your own work and only then look for a scheme. This is how to proceed step by step:

1. Start with the problem, not the grant. Where is time being lost, and where do things go wrong? List the steps of your work, as in mapping your processes. Not sure where to start yet? Then read You don't know where to start with AI.
2. Decide what kind of project it is. Do you want to train people, research something new, build technically new software yourself, or introduce something that already exists? That determines which scheme might fit.
3. Find the scheme and the body that runs it. Look in the overview on Ondernemersplein (in Dutch) and on your province's grant page. SLIM is run by Uitvoering van Beleid SZW, the WBSO and MCZ by RVO, and an MIT feasibility project by your province.
4. Put the dates in your calendar. When does the application window open, and what do you need to have ready? Think of eHerkenning (the Dutch business login), a plan and a budget. Do not start the work if the scheme requires you to apply first.
5. Work out the project without a grant. What does it cost, and is it worth it? Also read what AI costs for an SME and what custom software costs.
6. In doubt? Ask. Put your question to the organisation that runs the scheme, or have a grant adviser or your accountant take a look.

What do I do, and what don't I do?

I do not apply for grants on your behalf and I am not a grant adviser. What I do:

• AI training in your business. A training in AI literacy, with clear rules for using AI. It does not fall under SLIM-mkb, because training costs do not count there. So plan it without a grant. Read more at AI training.
• A plan with a fixed price. In a business analysis I look at how you work and where AI or automation helps, and where it does not. You then receive a proposal with a fixed price. That way you know what the project costs, with or without a grant. If you still want to apply for a grant, you have a clear plan for the conversation with the body that runs the scheme or an adviser.
• Building. After that I build it myself, in the systems you already use: integrations and automation or custom software. For the WBSO, that is outsourced work, not S&O of your own business.

The first conversation is free. What the follow-up costs is stated in advance in the proposal. Also read how your price is determined. Book a conversation.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: SLIM scheme (wetten.overheid.nl, in force from 23 May 2026), Uitvoering van Beleid SZW: SLIM mkb 2025-2029, Dutch government (Rijksoverheid): New SLIM-mkb application windows announced (31 March 2026), Ondernemersplein: SLIM grant, RVO: MIT, RVO: MIT R&D collaboration projects, RVO: MIT R&D collaboration projects AI, Province of Gelderland: frequently asked questions MIT feasibility projects 2026, MIT Southern Netherlands grant scheme 2026-2030 (Subsidieregeling MIT Zuid-Nederland), RVO: WBSO, RVO: WBSO conditions, RVO: WBSO calendar, RVO: WBSO in 2027 (15 September 2026), RVO: Mijn cyberweerbare zaak, Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst): Small-scale investment deduction 2026, Ondernemersplein: Regional grants for business owners, RVO: SME workshops grant scheme, RVO: European Digital Innovation Hubs and Europa decentraal: de minimis regulations. Consulted on 22 October 2026.