Typically up to 150,000 DKK in grant funding for advisory work on digitalisation and AI: that is what the SMV:Digital programme offers Danish small and medium-sized enterprises, according to smvdigital.dk (2026). Yet the programme remains surprisingly unknown among exactly the companies it was created for. In this guide we walk through what SMV:Digital is, who qualifies, what the grant covers (and pointedly does not cover), and how the application works step by step, plus how to spend the money so the advisory work ends in something that actually gets built.
What is SMV:Digital?
SMV:Digital is Denmark’s national programme giving small and medium-sized enterprises grants for private advisory services on digitalisation, automation and AI. According to smvdigital.dk (2026), the grant typically covers up to 150,000 DKK, corresponding to 50% of advisory costs in a project of up to 300,000 DKK. The grant funds advisory work, not the development itself, and is released in pools that open and close on a rolling basis. Always check smvdigital.dk for current pools and deadlines before planning around the figures here.
Who qualifies, and what does the grant cover?
SMV:Digital is run under the Danish Business Authority (Erhvervsstyrelsen) and targets established small and medium-sized companies, not brand-new ideas without operations. The exact requirements vary from pool to pool, but the core principles recur:
The typical criteria
- A Danish CVR number and active operations. The company must be registered in Denmark and genuinely running, pools typically set minimum requirements for full-time employees and/or revenue.
- SME status under the EU definition applied by Erhvervsstyrelsen: fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover of at most 50 million EUR or a balance sheet of at most 43 million EUR.
- A concrete digitalisation or AI need that can be framed as an advisory project, for example clarifying which solution to build, or how AI could automate a specific process.
- Note: the precise thresholds (employees, revenue, sector) are set per pool, always read the current pool description on smvdigital.dk before counting on anything.
What the grant covers
- The purchase of private advisory services: needs clarification, potential analysis, requirements specification, technical architecture and an implementation plan, typically 50% of the advisory cost, up to 150,000 DKK, according to smvdigital.dk (2026).
- The advisor’s hours across the project, from the first workshop to the finished deliverable.
What the grant does not cover
- The development itself: the grant does not pay for building the software, nor for licences, hardware or operations. Be precise about this distinction when you plan, it is the single most misunderstood part of the programme.
- Your own internal hours: you fund the remaining 50% yourselves, and your own work does not count as advisory services.
The grants are released in pools that open and close on a rolling basis: often first come, first served, and popular pools can close again quickly. New pools open continuously: the digitalisation pool is scheduled to open on 9 November 2026, according to smvdigital.dk, but always check smvdigital.dk for current pools and deadlines: plans change, and pools may appear that were not announced when this guide was written.
See current pools and deadlines on smvdigital.dk
How to apply: step by step
The application process is less bureaucratic than many fear, but the order of operations matters. A typical journey looks like this:
Check the criteria
Read the current pool description on smvdigital.dk and confirm that you meet the requirements for employees, revenue and SME status. Five minutes of checking here saves a wasted application later.
Define the project and find an advisor
Describe the problem the advisory work should solve: for example “which AI solution could automate our case handling, and what does it require technically?” Collect quotes from one or more private advisors; some pools require the advisor’s quote to be attached to the application.
Apply in an open pool
The application is submitted digitally via smvdigital.dk. Expect to describe the company, the project, the expected outcome and the advisory budget.
Wait for the grant decision, and do not start before it
Costs incurred before the grant decision (tilsagn) are as a rule not covered. Hold off on signing the advisor agreement until the decision is in.
Complete the advisory project
Work with the advisor on the deliverable, and keep the focus on an output you can act on directly: a requirements specification, an architecture, a prioritised plan.
Report and receive the grant
After the project you document that the advisory work was completed and paid, typically with the invoice and a short report, after which the grant is paid out.
Expect the full journey from application to paid-out grant to take some months: the application itself is days, not weeks, but the decision and the advisory project take time. Plan around the pool dates, not around your own preferred project start.
How to spend the grant wisely on AI and digitalisation
The honest truth about advisory grants: too many projects end as a report in a drawer. That is not the programme’s fault, it is the scoping’s. If the grant is to create value, the advisory project must be designed to end in something buildable: a concrete requirements specification, a technical architecture, a prioritised roadmap with estimates. Ask the advisor to describe the deliverable in exactly those terms before you sign anything.
For AI projects this matters even more. An “AI potential analysis” can mean anything from a generic trend report to a concrete technical clarification of which of your processes can genuinely be automated, with which models, at what running cost. Demand the latter: the advisory work should identify one or two concrete use cases, assess the data foundation, and end in a plan a developer can pick up directly.
Our own role in this kind of project is precisely that: technical clarification and architecture as the advisory deliverable: which solution, which architecture, what it costs to build and run. The build itself can follow afterwards as a separate project; we help with both, but the grant covers the advisory part. Getting that distinction on the table from day one means nobody is surprised about what is funded and what is not.
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SMV:Digital, Innofounder or InnoBooster?
SMV:Digital is not the only public programme that can co-finance digitalisation and innovation in Denmark. The three most talked-about programmes are often confused, but they target very different situations:
| Programme | Who is it for? | What does it fund? |
|---|---|---|
| SMV:Digital | Established SMEs with a CVR number, employees and operations | Advisory services on digitalisation and AI, typically up to 150,000 DKK, according to smvdigital.dk |
| Innofounder | Early-stage founders and recent graduates with an idea | A programme with a monthly stipend and sparring in the start-up phase, according to Innovation Fund Denmark’s description |
| InnoBooster | Companies with a concrete innovation project | Co-financing of development and innovation projects, according to Innovation Fund Denmark’s description |
Comparison of the three Danish funding programmes SMV:Digital, Innofounder and InnoBooster, based on the programmes’ own descriptions (2026).
Source: the programmes’ own descriptions (smvdigital.dk and innovationsfonden.dk, 2026). Criteria and amounts change, always check the programme’s own page before planning.
The rule of thumb: if you are an established company wanting to digitalise or clarify an AI project, SMV:Digital is the obvious place to start. If you are earlier, with an idea or an MVP that has not yet found its market, the arrow points towards Innofounder or InnoBooster instead. And whatever the funding source, the same principle applies: build the smallest version that proves the value before you scale.
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FAQ: what companies ask us most
Can the SMV:Digital grant be used for AI projects?
Yes. The programme covers digitalisation broadly, and AI (for example automation of case handling, document processing or customer service) is a central part of what the pools fund advisory work on, according to smvdigital.dk (2026). The key is that the project is framed as advisory work: clarifying what should be built, how, and with what expected effect.
Does the grant cover the development of the solution itself?
No, and this is the most important detail to understand. The grant covers the purchase of private advisory services: analysis, requirements specification, architecture and an implementation plan. The software development itself, licences and operations you pay for yourselves. A good advisory project does, however, make the development cheaper, because scope and architecture are settled before any code is written.
How long does the application take?
The application itself can typically be written in a few hours to a few days, if the project description and the advisor’s quote are ready. Then comes the processing time until the grant decision, which takes weeks, and the advisory project itself, which often runs over some months. Expect a total journey of roughly 3-6 months from application to completed project, and remember that popular pools can close shortly after opening.
Can TwinCurrent act as the advisor on an SMV:Digital project?
Yes: the grant funds the purchase of private advisory services, and the advisor must be a company with a CVR number and relevant competence in the project’s subject. We deliver technical clarification, architecture and requirements specification as the advisory deliverable. Note that some pools set specific requirements for the advisor: check the current pool description, and ask us if you are unsure whether your project fits.
What if our application is rejected?
First: read the reasoning: many rejections come down to formalities (criteria, an incomplete project description) and can be fixed for the next pool. New pools open on a rolling basis, so a rejection is rarely the end of the road. And remember that the project does not have to wait for a grant: a technical clarification is a manageable investment even without co-financing, and the alternatives, for example InnoBooster for innovation projects, may fit your situation better.
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