# The SIB Subsidy: 50% Back on Japan Training and Market-Entry Help for Dutch SMEs > RVO's Support International Business scheme refunds a Dutch SME half the cost of an export training, a market-entry expert or an export coach, up to EUR 6,500 a year. There is no register of approved providers. This is what the published criteria actually say, and what you need from a provider before you apply. - **Source:** https://www.silkdrive.com/insights/sib-subsidy-japan-training - **Author:** Patric Sawada - **Published:** 2026-09-04 - **Category:** International Business - **Topics:** sib subsidy, rvo sib, support international business, export training subsidy, japan market entry, dutch sme funding ## Summary - Support International Business (SIB) is an RVO scheme that pays 50 per cent of the cost of specific activities aimed at one target country. Applications run from 1 January to 31 December 2026, while budget lasts - The ceilings are EUR 2,500 for an export training, EUR 2,500 for market-entry help from an external expert, and EUR 1,000 for coaching, with a hard cap of EUR 6,500 of subsidy per SME per calendar year - The training budget for 2026 was raised from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 4,500,000 on 4 August - There is no RVO register of approved providers. You choose the provider, and RVO checks the choice against published criteria - The criteria are specific: the training must be openly published, accessible to everyone, and collective with more than two participants, and the trainer must be independent of you - Businesses without legal personality, including a sole proprietorship, a vof, a cv and a maatschap, cannot apply at all, and being registered at the KVK is not the same as being an mkb-onderneming: RVO points anyone unsure at its own mkb-toets - The process is short: get a quote and a CV from the provider, then apply within three months. Applying from the Netherlands needs eHerkenning level 2+ Support International Business, usually shortened to SIB, is a subsidy from RVO that pays half the cost of specific activities aimed at one foreign target country. For a Dutch SME planning a move into Japan it is the most directly useful money on the table, because it funds the two things that decide whether the move works: an external expert who opens the market, and training that closes the knowledge gap before you get there. The current round is open from 1 January to 31 December 2026, for as long as budget is available. That last condition is not decoration. The export training and coaching budget for 2026 was raised from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 4,500,000 on 4 August, which tells you the money moves. ## What it pays The scheme is split into components, and each has its own ceiling. | Component | What it covers | Subsidy | |---|---|---| | Hulp bij mijn marktentree | An external expert helps you set up activities in the target country and introduces you to relevant local parties | 50 per cent, max EUR 2,500 | | Opdoen van kennis en vaardigheden | Legal and tax knowledge about the target country, or a market study of your sector there | 50 per cent, max EUR 2,500 | | Exporttraining en coaching | An export training, or sparring with a coach on your export questions | 50 per cent, max EUR 2,500 for training, EUR 1,000 for coaching | | Individuele beursdeelname | Your own company at a trade fair in a specific country | 50 per cent, max EUR 2,500 | | Samen naar handelsmissies en beurzen | A mission or fair alongside other companies | 50 per cent, max EUR 1,500 for a mission, EUR 2,500 for a fair | | Zoeken naar alternatieve markten | Finding a replacement market if you were hit by the war in Ukraine or the sanctions against Russia | 80 per cent, max EUR 2,500 | You can apply for several different components. You can apply only once for the same eligible activity in the same target country, with trade fairs and missions the exception at twice. Across everything, the ceiling is **EUR 6,500 of subsidy per SME per calendar year**. ## Who can apply, and who cannot You must be an SME in the Netherlands or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, registered with the KVK. You must have your own product or service, the ambition and capacity to go international, and a target market you have already identified and see opportunities in. Your company must not carry out activities on the FMO exclusion list. Two rules catch more people than the rest, and both are worth reading twice. Businesses without legal personality are excluded by name: a sole proprietorship, a general partnership (vof), a limited partnership (cv) and a professional partnership (maatschap) do not qualify for SIB. And being registered at the KVK is not the same as being an mkb-onderneming. RVO says so on the page and points anyone in doubt at its own mkb-toets. This is the gate that catches established mid-size companies, which read the word mkb as a description of themselves and are over the line. Run the test before you plan around the money, not after you have quoted it to a client. ## The part most guides skip: there is no approved-provider list This is the mechanic that matters when you go looking for a trainer or an expert. RVO publishes the criteria a provider has to meet, and does not publish a register of approved vendors. You choose the provider yourself. RVO assesses that choice against the criteria when it assesses your application. That cuts both ways. It means no provider can truthfully advertise itself as RVO-approved, because no such status exists. It also means a good provider is one you can check against the published criteria before you commit, which is a short list. ### For an export training The training has to increase your knowledge of international business. It can be an external one-day or multi-day training, or an in-company training for more than two employees. Then three structural conditions: - **Openly published and accessible to everyone.** A private arrangement quoted only to you does not satisfy it. - **Collective.** More than two participants; for an in-company training, more than two of your own employees. - **Delivered by an independent trainer.** The trainer must not be the applicant, and must not be employed by, working for, or otherwise connected to the applicant. The trainer themselves must have at least HBO thinking and working level, demonstrable experience giving export trainings, practical experience executing export activities, and must work for an organisation whose core task is export advice, or an organisation that offers training to Dutch SMEs with an internationalisation strategy. The scheme names the International Business Academy and Cedeo as examples of the second kind, and the wording introduces them as examples rather than as the complete list. ### For market-entry help The external expert needs at least HBO working and thinking level, recent sector expertise related to the purpose of your application, a demonstrable relevant network in the target country, and must work at an organisation that offers demonstrable services in that country. The same two independence rules apply. Note where the network requirement sits. It attaches to the expert and the organisation, not to a general reputation. If a provider tells you they have a Japan network, the question to ask is whose it is and whether it is named. ## How to apply The sequence is short and the order matters. 1. Find a training, expert or coach that fits your question. 2. Ask them for a **quote** setting out the services to be delivered and the cost of each part, and a **CV** showing their knowledge and experience of the target country or the training subject. 3. Once you have the quote, you have **three months** to submit the application. 4. Attach the quote and the CV to the application. You submit the application yourself, or through an intermediary who has no connection at all to the provider or organiser of the activity. The party being paid with the subsidy may not be the party applying for it. From the Netherlands you need eHerkenning level 2+, which itself takes a few days to arrange, so start that first if you do not have it. ## What this means if Japan is your target country The published theme list for an export training leads with export management, export skills, tax and customs, delivery and payment terms, legal matters and internal export organisation. It is introduced as indicative. Cross-cultural training is neither named nor excluded, and whether a specific training qualifies is RVO's decision on your individual application. What you can settle in advance is the mechanical half. Ask any provider four questions: is the training openly published, is it open to everyone, is it collective, and are you independent of us. If the answer to all four is yes and the trainer's CV carries the export-training and export-practice experience the criteria ask for, your application is at least arguable on the provider side, and the rest is your own case. For the market-entry component the useful question is the network one. An expert who opens doors in Japan is worth the claim; a consultant who has read about Japan is not, and the criteria are written to tell those apart. Our own training programmes are published with their scope and their prices on the [cross-cultural training pages](/training), and the Dutch-language page for this scheme sets out how each criterion maps to what we deliver, together with the quote-and-CV pack you attach to an application: [SIB-subsidie voor Japan-training](/nl/sib-subsidie). ## Related reading - [The complete guide to Japan market entry for European companies](/insights/japan-market-entry-guide), what the money is being spent on - [The real cost of entering the Japanese market](/insights/real-cost-entering-japanese-market), where EUR 6,500 sits against the full bill - [The EU-Japan Centre: free support for European companies in Japan](/insights/eu-japan-centre-guide), the free instruments that sit alongside a national subsidy - [Cross-cultural training cost: what a Japan programme is worth](/insights/cross-cultural-training-cost), the price side of the same decision ## Where this comes from Every figure and every condition above is taken from RVO's own published pages on Support International Business, captured on 3 September 2026: the scheme overview, the Exporttraining en Coaching page, and the Marktentree page. RVO states that the overview content was checked on 1 January 2026 and the Exporttraining en Coaching page on 23 April 2026. The absence of an approved-provider register is the absence of one across those published pages, not a statement RVO has made. Check the current text on rvo.nl before you apply, because the scheme is reopened and amended annually and the Staatscourant carries the amendments. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the SIB subsidy? Support International Business is a subsidy from RVO, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, that funds activities aimed at increasing your commercial chances in one specific target country. It covers several distinct components, including market-entry help from an external expert, knowledge and skills work, export training and coaching, individual trade-fair participation, and joint missions. Applications for the current round run from 1 January to 31 December 2026, for as long as budget is available. ### How much does SIB pay for an export training? Fifty per cent of the costs, up to a maximum of EUR 2,500 for an export training and EUR 1,000 for coaching. Market-entry help from an external expert is also fifty per cent up to EUR 2,500. Across all components there is a ceiling of EUR 6,500 of subsidy per SME per calendar year. ### Does RVO have a list of approved SIB providers? No. The published scheme sets out criteria that the provider must meet and does not publish a register of approved vendors. You pick the trainer, expert or coach yourself, and RVO assesses that choice against the criteria when it assesses your application. ### What are the criteria for an SIB export training? The training must increase your knowledge of international business. It can be an external one-day or multi-day training, or an in-company training for more than two of your employees. It must be openly published and accessible to everyone, and it must be collective, meaning more than two participants. The trainer needs at least HBO thinking and working level, demonstrable experience giving export trainings, and practical experience executing export activities, and must work for an organisation whose core task is export advice or which offers training to Dutch SMEs with an internationalisation strategy. The trainer must not be the applicant and must not be employed by, working for, or otherwise connected to the applicant. ### Can a sole trader apply for SIB? No. The scheme requires an SME registered with the KVK, and businesses without legal personality are excluded by name: a sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak), a general partnership (vof), a limited partnership (cv) and a professional partnership (maatschap) do not qualify. Note also that being registered at the KVK is not the same as being an mkb-onderneming. RVO points anyone unsure at its own mkb-toets, and that is the test to run before you plan around this money, because a firm can be a well-established Dutch company and still sit above the SME line. ### How do I apply for SIB? Find a training, expert or coach that fits your question. Ask them for a quote setting out the services and their costs, and for a CV showing their knowledge and experience. Once you have the quote you have three months to submit the application. You attach the quote and the CV. You apply yourself, or through an intermediary who has no connection to the provider, and the party being paid with the subsidy may not submit the application. From the Netherlands you need eHerkenning level 2+. ### Is cross-cultural training for Japan eligible? That is RVO's decision on your individual application, and nothing here pre-empts it. The published list of themes is introduced as indicative and leads with export management, export skills, tax and customs, delivery and payment terms, legal matters and internal export organisation. It neither names nor excludes cross-cultural or intercultural training. What you can check in advance is the mechanical part: whether the training is openly published, open to everyone, collective, and delivered by someone independent of you who meets the trainer criteria.