Strategic Trade Fair Programme (SBP)

Purpose of the programme

The purpose of this subsidy programme is to expand the international network and visibility of Dutch SMEs, SMEs from the Dutch Caribbean Islands of the Kingdom and knowledge institutions through joint participation in international trade fairs. This also helps them increase their business opportunities abroad.

This new programme is a merger of 2 older programmes: MKB Lounge and SBP.  

For whom?

Trade associations, membership organisations and TINL partners based in the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands may apply. The subsidy is designed to fund the organisation of joint participation in international trade fairs in the Netherlands or abroad.

Organisations wishing to apply for this subsidy must have an internationalisation strategy for the sector. Applicants are also required to have at least 2 years of experience in organising activities for international trade fairs.

Budget 

A total of €1,300,000 is available for the Strategic Trade Fair Programme for this application round. This amount is spread across 3 categories: 

1. Dutch lounges, Dutch pavilions and networking activities - €400,000
2. Dutch pavilions and/or networking activities at a trade fair for a strategically designated sector - €425,000
3. Dutch pavilions and networking activities at strategically designated trade fairs - €475,000

Conditions

Trade associations, membership organisations and TINL partners wishing to apply for this subsidy must have:

• an internationalisation strategy for the sector;
• at least 2 years of experience in organising activities for international trade fairs.

Per application round:

• Subsidies may be applied for in 1 of 3 categories. It is not possible to apply for subsidies in 2 different categories for a single trade fair.
• Subsidy can be assigned a maximum of 4 times per round, of which a maximum of 2 times for category 3.
• Trade associations and membership organisations with more than 500 members can be assigned a maximum of 6 subsidy applications, of which a maximum of 2 for category 3.

Characteristics per category 

Below you see the characteristics and conditions for each category.

Application periods

There will be 2 application periods this year:

• The first application period starts on 23 February and ends on 20 March.
• The second application period will start around September.

We will not accept applications outside these 2 periods.

After your application

You will receive a response within 13 weeks after submitting your subsidy application. 

Regulations and legislation

Please check the decision and policy subsidy scheme Strategic Trade Fair Programme (Staatscourant, 16 February 2026, in Dutch) for the complete current version and all conditions of the Strategic Trade Fair Programme. For your convenience, you can also download the unofficial translation to English below.

Please note: No rights can be derived from this translation. In case of discrepancies, the Dutch version shall prevail.