Up to €25,000 for your data project.
The Province of Lower Austria and the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce are relaunching digi4wirtschaft: 2 million euro for digitalisation projects that make better use of data. An expert jury decides, and it looks above all at the quality of the application. I help you turn your idea into an eligible project and file it properly. The consulting for it can itself be subsidised.
Applications from 9:00 on 1 October 2026 until the budget is used up, at the latest by 31 December 2026.
Short answer
digi4wirtschaft is the programme of the Province of Lower Austria and the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce. Its digi Investition stream funds investments in the data-driven development of a business with 20 per cent of eligible costs, up to 25,000 euro per company. Applications run from 1 October 2026 via the province's funding portal until the 2 million euro budget is used up, at the latest by 31 December 2026. Bracharz Consulting in Wilhelmsburg near St. Pölten prepares the project and documents and has been registered in the consultant pool of the Chamber's Technology and Innovation Partners since 2014, consultant number 5944.
The grant at a glance
Source: Province of Lower Austria, checked 30 September 2026
20 %
of eligible costs as a grant
€25,000
maximum per company
€5,000
minimum eligible project costs
€2m
total budget, half from the province, half from the chamber
31 Dec
last filing day in 2026, earlier if the budget runs out
On paper the budget covers 80 projects at the maximum grant. A project reaches the full 25,000 euro from 125,000 euro in eligible costs. On top comes a flat rate for internal staff costs of 10 per cent of purchase and investment costs. Anyone who needs a loan can also apply for a guarantee from NÖBEG.
Name me as your preferred consultant.
Preparing a data project does not have to come out of your own pocket. The Technology and Innovation Partners (TIP) of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce subsidise consulting, and I have been registered in their consultant pool since 10 June 2014.
digi Assistent
up to €3,300
Up to 60 consulting hours, subsidised at up to €55 per hour. Content and hourly rate are agreed between company and consultant in the registration form.
TIP AI funding
up to €9,900
Non-repayable grant for AI projects, for example up to three blocks of 60 hours for an outline concept, a proof of concept and a first use case. For Lower Austrian businesses of any size.
How to get subsidised consulting
- 01A short initial call with me: we pin down what the project should achieve.
- 02Your company, as a member of the Lower Austrian Chamber, registers the project with TIP and names Mag. Rainer Bracharz, consultant number 5944, as its preferred consultant.
- 03Once TIP has confirmed eligibility, the consulting project can start.
Worth knowing: the public WKO consultant list only shows firms that have delivered subsidised consulting through the chamber in the past two years. What counts for naming a preferred consultant is registration in the pool, and that has been in place since 2014.
What the jury looks for
Filing first does not automatically win. The province states explicitly that the decision does not rest on the time of receipt alone but above all on the quality of the project submitted. Applications are bundled and put to an expert jury on a rolling basis.
According to the programme document, a project has to meet these points:
Existing digital data
The project builds on data that already exists in digital form. Data held only on paper rules it out.
Integration into operations
The investment is built into work and value-creation processes. Software that sits on the side is not enough.
Demonstrable use of data
Data management and analytics tools, AI included, are a clearly visible part of the project.
A concept, not a shopping list
The project hangs together and rests on a detailed concept. A string of individual measures will not pass.
What is funded and what is not
Eligible if essential to the project
- +Software: purchase, data, licences and subscriptions for 36 months
- +Hardware at a business site in Lower Austria
- +External services, such as defining and developing interfaces or buying in external data
- +Internal staff costs as a flat rate of 10 per cent of purchase and investment costs
Not eligible, excerpt from the programme document
- ×CRM or ERP as an isolated solution
- ×Software, licences or AI subscriptions as a stand-alone solution without integration into processes
- ×Projects that consist only of a digitalisation concept
- ×Industry-standard solutions, replacement investments and basic IT such as servers, firewalls or Office
- ×A stand-alone website, web shop, booking platform or customer app without integration into processes
- ×Media content, social media, plant automation, leasing
What an eligible project looks like
The programme document gives its own examples. They all share one thing: bringing existing data from several sources together and turning it into better day-to-day decisions.
Trades
Link job, material and equipment data, plan maintenance ahead, bundle trips.
Services
Connect CRM, orders, tickets and billing, spot churn risks early.
Tourism
Combine booking, channel and weather data, steer prices, staffing and capacity by it.
Manufacturing
Merge ERP, production and supplier data, forecast bottlenecks and lead times.
Logistics
Fleet, route and delivery data in one model, delays spotted early.
Construction
Integrate site reports, schedules, materials and staff, flag deviations automatically.
How I take you through the application
Funding check
30 minutes, free. Does your project fit the programme, does your business qualify, which exclusions could apply? Afterwards you know whether an application is worth it.
Shape the project
Individual wishes become one coherent project: which data sources, which interfaces, which analysis, which measurable benefit. Subsidised via digi Assistent if you wish.
Documents and filing
Project description following the guidelines, cost breakdown, quotes, application in the portal. We deal with requests for further documents within the three-week deadline.
Delivery and final accounts
If you wish, I support the project through its twelve-month term, up to the final accounts on the province's forms.
Important before you start
The application must be filed before the project starts. Nothing may be ordered or commissioned beforehand. One project per company is funded, and it cannot be combined with funding streams outside digi4wirtschaft. Nobody can promise approval; the expert jury decides.
Who can apply
Businesses in trade and industry as well as tourism and leisure, from transport, retail, services, industry and manufacturing, that carry out the project at a site in Lower Austria. They need an active trade licence at the site, their economic centre in Lower Austria and at least two years of business activity in the province.
Excluded are, among others, banks, insurers, research institutions, non-profit organisations and primary agricultural production. The grant is de minimis aid, and other de minimis aid from the past three years must be declared. The third pillar, digi Kickstart, offers workshops for six to ten companies through TIP.
FAQ
What is digi4wirtschaft?
digi4wirtschaft is the programme of the Province of Lower Austria and the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce for the digitalisation of businesses. It has three pillars: digi Kickstart (workshops), digi Assistent (subsidised consulting) and digi Investition, which gives a grant for investments in the value-adding use of data.
How much funding is available?
The digi Investition stream covers 20 per cent of eligible costs, up to 25,000 euro per company. Eligible project costs must be at least 5,000 euro. Internal staff costs are recognised as a flat rate of 10 per cent of the purchase and investment costs.
What is the application deadline?
Applications can be filed from 9:00 on 1 October 2026 via the Province of Lower Austria's funding portal until the 2 million euro budget is used up, at the latest by 31 December 2026. An expert jury assesses applications on a rolling basis, and the quality of the project is what counts most.
Can the consulting itself be subsidised?
Yes, through the Technology and Innovation Partners (TIP) of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce. digi Assistent subsidises up to 60 consulting hours at up to 55 euro per hour, a maximum of 3,300 euro. For AI projects, TIP subsidises up to 9,900 euro, for example in up to three blocks of 60 hours for an outline concept, a proof of concept and a first use case. Rainer Bracharz has been registered in the TIP consultant pool since 2014 and can be named as the preferred consultant.
Why is Rainer Bracharz not on the WKO consultant list?
The public consultant list of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce only shows firms that have delivered subsidised consulting through the chamber in the past two years. Registration in the consultant pool is separate: Rainer Bracharz has been registered there since 10 June 2014 under consultant number 5944. Your company can name him to TIP as its preferred consultant.
Which projects are not eligible?
According to the programme document, these include CRM or ERP as an isolated solution, software or AI subscriptions without integration into processes, concept-only projects, standard solutions, replacement investments, basic IT equipment, stand-alone websites or web shops, and media content. Projects without targeted use of data, or with data held only on paper, are not eligible.
Who can apply?
Businesses in trade and industry as well as tourism and leisure that carry out the project at a site in Lower Austria, hold an active trade licence there, have their economic centre in Lower Austria and have been active in the province for at least two years.
Can I place orders before applying?
No. The application must be filed before the project starts. That includes the first binding orders and commissions.
Can digi4wirtschaft be combined with other funding?
A guarantee from NÖBEG for a bank loan can be combined with it. According to the programme document, it cannot be combined with funding streams outside digi4wirtschaft. The grant is de minimis aid.
How does Bracharz Consulting help?
Bracharz Consulting in Wilhelmsburg near St. Pölten checks in a free initial call whether a project fits the programme, shapes it around the use of data, prepares the project description and cost breakdown, and supports submission, delivery and final accounts. Nobody can promise approval; the expert jury decides.
Sources
- Province of Lower Austria: digi4Wirtschaft programme (German) ↗
- digi4Wirtschaft programme document, version 1.05 (PDF, German) ↗
- Lower Austria business funding portal ↗
- TIP: funding for AI projects (German) ↗
- TIP: digi Assistent (German) ↗
All information as at 30 September 2026. Only the programme document and the funding bodies are authoritative.