Germany supports entrepreneurs with a number of funding programmes. If your business idea is convincing, you may obtain funding to help you start up your business, which will put you in a more secure position. Most of these funding programmes consist of public loans, which offer you better conditions with regard to their interest, loan periods and repayment terms. In order to apply for such funding, your place of residence and your company’s operations must be located in Germany.

An overview of public funding programmes is available on the Startup Portal.

Usually, you will need to apply for funding through your own bank. There, you will also be able to find out what the conditions for this type of funding are, for example whether your industry is eligible and how you need to demonstrate use of the funds you are given.  Don’t forget to bring the documents you require, such as your business plan and your CV.

At www.investitionsbank.info/ you will find a list of funding institutes in Germany. There, you can see which development banks there are in your German state, so that you can look for suitable funding programmes there.

Establishment of technological or knowledge-based businesses

If you are a scientist and would like to set up a technological business, you are likely to require a lot of capital. At the same time, your risks will be relatively high. That’s why financing such enterprises can be quite a challenge. There are special funding programmes for this area, including the EXIST support programme.

There are numerous ways of obtaining state funding, and it can be difficult to find the right programme for you. That’s why it may make sense to make use of the available support (German). Help is also available online: The Funding Database will guide you to the right programme for you.