How to obtain assistance from the Blue Fund

The aim of the Blue Fund is to finance the digital transition projects of Monegasque companies. It offers co-financing for approved projects in the amount of 70% of the budget presented.

To find out more about Blue Fund, please click here

Eligibility criteria 

To be eligible, the applicant company and its digital transition project must meet the following criteria:

Criteria relating to the company:

• Be duly registered in the Principality’s Trade and Industry Registry or be able to show a current ministerial authorisation 
• Be able to prove that it operates a genuine business in the Principality
• Be up to date with all legal obligations (tax, social, administrative, etc.)
• Have carried out a digital maturity self-assessment on the EME platform

The digital transition project

Projects are acceptable if they form part of a digital transition plan with one of the following three aims:

• Improving the customer experience and sales (for example, increasing visibility, new sales channels, redesigning the customer front office, customer relationship management, etc.) 
• Improving productivity (for example, use of digital HR, financial management and procurement solutions, introduction of electronic signature, moving processes online, etc.) 
• Launching new economic models that rely on digital technology (for example: creating services on the sovereign cloud, etc.)

To be acceptable, projects must also create added value (add new jobs, increase revenue, etc.).

Specificities of projects relating to the adoption of Monaco Cloud services

Monaco Cloud is the operator of Monaco's Sovereign Cloud. Its mission is to offer the Monegasque Government, Critical Infrastructure Operators (CIOs) and private companies in Monaco and the region infrastructures and cloud services (IaaS/PaaS) with the highest standards of quality and security.

Its infrastructures are located in Monaco, and the data hosted there is therefore subject to Monegasque law.

Monaco Cloud's activity is structured around three types of project that are eligible for the Blue Fund:

Aid for Monegasque businesses, Monaco Cloud's end customers:

1. Migration projects to the sovereign Cloud: Monegasque businesses can make use of a network of reseller-integrator partners of Monaco Cloud to migrate their IT infrastructures to Monaco Cloud. The Blue Fund helps businesses bear part of the costs associated with this migration.

Aid for publishers of SaaS solutions:

2.  Software and SaaS motorisation on Monaco Cloud infrastructures and integration into the Monaco Cloud marketplace: to enhance the attractiveness of Monaco Cloud, the Blue Fund provides financial assistance to software publishers and SaaS providers who wish to place their solution on the Sovereign Cloud, by supporting part of the cost of porting the solution onto Monaco Cloud infrastructures.

Aid for Monaco Cloud's partner Digital Service Companies (DSCs)*:

3. Obtaining Monaco Cloud certification: in order to market the AWS and VMware technologies offered by Monaco Cloud, DSC partners of Monaco Cloud must be trained and must obtain the required AWS and VMware certification. The Blue Fund helps Monaco Cloud's partner DSCs bear the cost of acquiring this certification.

* If you would like to become a Monaco Cloud partner to market the operator’s services, email contact@monacocloud.mc. More information is available from the website monacocloud.mc

The processing time for applications is 4–6 weeks from receipt of a complete application plus 1 month for the committee stage.

To assess your digital maturity, you will need to go to the Extended Monaco for Businesses platform and follow the online procedure.

Please Note: To complete the test, you will first need to create an account on the platform.

Once you have created an account on the Extended Monaco for Businesses platform you will need to collate the following documents:

• The result of your a digital maturity self-assessment test 
• If the project has not yet been completed: detailed quotes, dated within the last month, issued by Monegasque digital technology professionals (with duly justified exceptions), and signed by the applicant company
• If the project has already been completed: detailed invoices, issued by Monegasque digital technology professionals (with duly justified exceptions)*
• Complete and current details of an active bank account belonging to the applicant company
• The company’s most recent balance sheet
• A detailed business plan** making the case for the project and setting out: 
• The background
• The link to the company’s strategy
• A description of the approach and the methodology
• The value added: performance indicators and expected benefits
• The company’s financial capacity to provide 70% of the funding for the project

* For applications for assistance in obtaining certifications, please send the invoices issued by Monaco Cloud.

** It is not necessary to provide supporting argumentation for applications for assistance in obtaining Monaco Cloud certification.

Once you have your documents ready, you can submit your application for assistance from the Blue Fund by clicking here.

Please note: Incomplete applications will not be considered. The Welcome Office reserves the right to contact you should any clarification or additional information be required.

You will receive an email informing you of the response to your application. You can also track the status of your application in your "Prince’s Government Online Services" space.

If your application is accepted, the amount granted may be up to 70% of the project cost. The arrangements for paying out the assistance will be as follows:

• 50% at project launch, on presentation of the purchase orders issued by the partners involved and signed by the applicant company
• 50% following project completion, on presentation of the relevant invoices and a document confirming successful completion

The Government reserves the right to reject any project that does not meet the stated criteria. In such cases, you will be informed of the decision by email.

*If you wish to become a Monaco Cloud partner in order to market the operator's services, please send an email to the address contact@monacocloud.mc. More information on monacocloud.mcwebsite

The processing time for applications is 4–6 weeks from receipt of a complete application plus 1 month for the committee stage.