Niiza City SME IT/DX Adoption Cost Subsidy

(1) Overview: Niiza City (Saitama) supports local businesses with subsidies covering part of the cost of IT/DX adoption and upgrades, aiming to expand sales channels and improve productivity. The program is administered by the city's Industrial Promotion Division (Commerce & Industry section). (2) Target: Corporations or sole proprietors operating an office, shop, or factory within Niiza City and qualifying as SMEs under Article 2(1) of the SME Basic Act (e.g., wholesale up to JPY 100M capital / 100 employees; retail incl. food service up to JPY 50M / 50; services up to JPY 50M / 100; manufacturing, construction, transport, etc. up to JPY 300M / 300). The applicant must not be delinquent on municipal taxes and must have used the Niiza Business Support consultation service. Certain entities such as social welfare, medical, NPO, and general incorporated associations may be excluded. (3) Eligible Expenses: Outsourcing costs for company website/SNS/sales system construction or renewal, business matching site fees, online negotiation tools, sales/customer management systems, cashless payment introduction, and tools for efficiency such as accounting, HR/labor management, cloud, and telework systems. Only 3 months of maintenance fees are eligible. Personnel, procurement, utilities, communications, rent, hardware (unless essential to the software), payment/transfer fees, shipping, packaging, entertainment, travel, and land purchases are excluded. (4) Rate, Cap, Schedule, Application Points: Subsidy rate is 1/2 of eligible expenses (rounded down to the nearest 1,000 yen), with a cap of JPY 70,000. The grant application deadline is February 26, 2027 (Reiwa 9); the performance report deadline is March 31, 2027. Acceptance ends when the budget is exhausted. Submit the application form, expense breakdown, checklist, personal-information consent, eligibility confirmation, and quotation copies to Niiza City Hall, Industrial Promotion Division, by mail or in person. Contracts and payments made before the grant decision are ineligible, double-funding on the same expense is prohibited, and each applicant may receive the subsidy only once (including prior fiscal years).