In brief: KMU.DIGITAL has ended. The Austrian funding programme will not be continued from 2027, and the budget of round 4.0 is exhausted. Applications for consulting or implementation funding are therefore no longer possible. Anyone looking for money for a digitalisation project today will find it mainly at the funding agencies of the nine provinces, collected in the funding overview for the federal level and all nine provinces.
Has KMU.DIGITAL been discontinued?
Yes. The homepage of kmudigital.at states that, due to the current consolidation measures in the federal budget, the KMU.DIGITAL funding programme will not be continued from 2027. Right before that, it says the KMU.DIGITAL 4.0 budget is fully exhausted and that applications for consulting and implementation funding are therefore no longer possible. (Source: kmudigital.at, checked on 29 September 2026, as of September 2026. The original wording is German.)
Formally, the funding period runs until the end of the year: according to the FAQ on kmudigital.at, the programme is valid until 31 December 2026. As the budget is used up, however, an application in the remaining months achieves nothing. In practice this means there is nothing left to obtain from KMU.DIGITAL in 2026, and from 2027 the programme no longer exists.
What did KMU.DIGITAL fund?
KMU.DIGITAL was an initiative of the Austrian Ministry of Economic Affairs (BMWET) together with the Austrian Economic Chamber. It funded consulting for Austrian SMEs by certified consultants on four topics: business models and processes, e-commerce and online marketing, IT and cybersecurity, and digital administration. The rates of the final round 4.0 according to kmudigital.at, all in the past tense because applications are no longer possible:
- Status and potential analysis: 80 % subsidy, up to 400 euros per tool.
- Strategy consulting: 50 % subsidy, up to 1,000 euros per tool.
- Implementation grant: 30 % subsidy, up to 6,000 euros, for eligible costs of 2,000 to 30,000 euros net. A completed and paid-out funded consultation was a prerequisite.
Consulting funding was capped at 3,000 euros per company in total. The KMU.DIGITAL & GREEN track worked the same way, for projects that combined digitalisation with ecological transformation. Source: kmudigital.at, programme page and FAQ on consulting and implementation funding, as of September 2026.
What applies to approved and ongoing cases?
kmudigital.at does not state a separate rule for ongoing cases after the programme ends. The FAQ only describes the deadlines that apply to every approval. For consulting funding, the settlement deadline is two months for status and potential analyses and three months for strategy consulting, each counted from the reservation approval. You upload the consulting report, the invoice showing the reference number and the consultant, and proof of payment. For implementation funding, the settlement documents must reach aws no later than two months after the project ends.
I cannot tell you with any authority how the end of the programme affects your specific case. Only the funding agency can answer that. For implementation projects, the FAQ names the KMU.DIGITAL hotline on +43 1 25 30 770 or kmudigital@aws.at. Have your reference number ready.
Is there a successor to KMU.DIGITAL?
None has been announced. As of 29 September 2026, kmudigital.at only states that the programme will not be continued. I will not speculate here, because businesses plan projects on statements like these. As soon as a funding agency publishes a new federal programme, I will add it to the funding overview.
Where should SMEs turn now?
To the provinces. Several Austrian provinces fund digitalisation projects with their own schemes, each with different rates, deadlines and requirements. The details are not repeated here, because they change regularly. They are maintained in the overview of digitalisation funding at federal and provincial level. The provincial funding check shows in a few clicks which scheme fits your location and project.
The latest example is Lower Austria. From 1 October 2026 the province and the chamber of commerce accept applications for digi4wirtschaft: a 20 per cent grant, up to 25,000 euro for projects that make better use of data, until 31 December 2026 at the latest. The consulting for it can be subsidised through the chamber's Technology and Innovation Partners.
For the consulting itself, less changes than you might think. What makes good digitalisation consulting and what it costs is covered in Digitalisation consulting for SMEs: process, cost, choice. How to choose a suitable consultant is described in Finding a KMU.DIGITAL consultant. The selection criteria there apply with or without funding.
What remains from around 30 KMU.DIGITAL consultations
Since 2024 I have carried out around 30 funded KMU.DIGITAL consultations. Three observations from them hold regardless of who pays for the consulting.
A concrete question beats a big topic. The strongest results came from businesses with one to fifty employees that brought a tangible question: the trade business whose order processing still ran on paper slips. The retailer who wanted to know whether an online channel would pay off. The furniture manufacturer that wanted to make its processes digital end to end.
Read the guidelines first, then place the order. KMU.DIGITAL only funded costs incurred after the application was submitted. Anyone who commissioned the webshop first lost the funding. Whether a provincial scheme requires the same order is stated in its guidelines. Check this before the first invoice.
A concept needs a sequence. A 40-page report that nobody reads helps no one. A good digitalisation concept ends with three prioritised measures, clear owners and a timeline.
Conclusion
KMU.DIGITAL made it easier for many small businesses to start structured digitalisation. That door is now closed. For financing, the provincial schemes are the next route; for planning, good consulting remains worthwhile, even without a subsidy. What I offer in concrete terms is on the service page Digitalisation consulting for SMEs.
Note: all funding details come from kmudigital.at, as of September 2026. Only the statements of the funding agency are binding.
Frequently asked questions about the end of KMU.DIGITAL
Will KMU.DIGITAL continue in 2027?
No. According to kmudigital.at, the programme will not be continued from 2027 because of consolidation measures in the federal budget. As of September 2026.
Can I still apply for KMU.DIGITAL?
No. The KMU.DIGITAL 4.0 budget is fully exhausted; according to kmudigital.at, applications for consulting and implementation funding are no longer possible.
How much funding did KMU.DIGITAL provide?
In round 4.0 there was 80 % for the status and potential analysis (up to 400 euros), 50 % for strategy consulting (up to 1,000 euros) and 30 % for implementation (up to 6,000 euros). Applications are no longer possible.
What happens to KMU.DIGITAL funding that has already been approved?
kmudigital.at does not state a separate rule for this. The known settlement deadlines apply. The funding agency is responsible for your individual case; for implementation projects, the hotline +43 1 25 30 770 or kmudigital@aws.at.
What is the alternative to KMU.DIGITAL?
No federal successor has been announced. Several provinces fund digitalisation with their own schemes. The current overview is at bracharz.com/en/funding/.