European recovery and resilience funding – Together towards the goal: accelerating the digitalisation of businesses

Slovenian businesses face considerable challenges in this area, particularly due to gaps in digital skills and limited financial capacity to invest in equipment and advanced digital technologies.

Through the Recovery and Resilience Plan, Slovenia has therefore implemented a reform and delivered a complementary investment to enhance efficiency and competitiveness through digitalisation and the wider adoption of modern technologies.

The Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport is responsible for implementing the reform, delivering the investment, and achieving the associated milestones and targets, which are a prerequisite for the disbursement of RRF funding.

Digital transformation of the economy – reform

In 2022, as part of the reform, the Ministry prepared the Strategy for the Digital Transformation of the Economy to 2030. The strategy sets out the key digital technologies required to modernise business operations. These include artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, big data analytics, digital platforms and digital twins, blockchain technology, and next-generation internet technologies. It also addresses the wider enabling environment, including research and development, entrepreneurship, access to finance and the regulatory framework. On this basis, the Ministry implemented an investment to support the digital transformation of businesses.

In December 2022, acting on the Ministry’s proposal, the Government adopted the Guidelines for Innovative Public Procurement, simplifying procurement procedures for innovative companies. Updated guidelines were issued in September 2023. 

The milestone linked to the adoption of the strategy formed part of Slovenia’s first payment request under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which the European Commission fully disbursed in  April 2023. The milestone related to the issuance of the procurement guidelines was included in the second payment request, disbursed in December 2023.

Digital transformation programme for enterprises – investment

To boost productivity and business growth through the digital transformation of operations and business functions, the Ministry launched a public call supporting 23 projects*. As a result, 23 consortia involving more than 100 companies developed digital strategies to modernise their operations, technologies and organisational culture, and carried out related implementation activities. Through the execution of these strategies, companies are increasing productivity, reducing production and service costs, and strengthening their competitiveness and market potential for innovative solutions.

The European Union contributed approximately EUR 44 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility to support this investment.

The milestone linked to the investment, “Award of contracts for projects for the digital transformation of enterprises”, together with the first target, “Consortia of companies with produced digital strategy”, formed part of Slovenia’s second payment request, which has already been disbursed. The second target, “Consortia supported with completed comprehensive digital transformation”, was included in the fourth payment request, which the European Commission disbursed in December 2025.

Cross-border and multi-country projects in the digitalisation of the economy – investments

As part of efforts to accelerate the digitalisation of the economy, the Ministry also supports the participation of Slovenian companies in two Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI):

• Important Project of Common European Interest on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies (IPCEI ME/CT) focuses on the development of microelectronics, semiconductors and microchips, which are critical to the functioning of key sectors such as the automotive and electrical industries. Slovenia participates in this IPCEI with two projects;
• Important Project of Common European Interest on Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI CIS) supports the development of advanced cloud computing solutions, contributing to improved data access and processing capabilities for businesses. Slovenia participates in this IPCEI through four projects involving 11 companies.

A total of EUR 6.5 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility has been allocated to support the participation of Slovenian companies in IPCEI projects.

The milestone linked to IPCEI ME/CT, “Finalisation of the list of potential participants to the common project”, formed part of Slovenia’s first payment request under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which the European Commission fully disbursed in April 2023. The related investment target, “Number of projects started”, was included in the fourth payment request, disbursed in December 2025.

The milestone under IPCEI CIS, “Launch of the call for expression of interest in a new project on next generation cloud”, was also included in the first payment request. The corresponding target, “Reports on data processing solutions”, has not yet been fully achieved and will be included in the final payment request.