Public funding supports small and medium-sized enterprises in their development. But which funding programmes are suitable for your own company? And how can the right funding be identified, or several funding programmes be combined? Entrepreneurs who deal with this topic quickly realise that getting an overview and making the right choice for their own company is a task that cannot be accomplished in passing. Finding one’s way through the funding jungle is not always easy.
Diverse Opportunities and Funding Projects
Digitalisation, internationalisation, innovations, sustainability or construction projects: There are countless funding areas and opportunities at state, federal and EU level. There are offers from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), such as the KfW Start-up Loan, offers from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), such as the “SME and Innovation Programme for Sustainability” (MIP), or from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), which supports companies with the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM), for example. At the state level, too, there is a wide range of funding programmes, which differ according to state and focus. And the European Union offers attractive support to SMEs with the COSME and Horizon Europe funding programmes, among others. And that is only a small selection – the list is long; it also includes many small grants.
A Clear Overview as a Basis for Decision-Making
In order to obtain transparency and a good information basis for an individual subsidy roadmap, a distinction is made between two groups of subsidies: On the one hand, there are the non-repayable grants. These are financial aids that are granted under certain conditions and do not have to be repaid. On the other hand, there are interest-subsidised loans – depending on the funding programme also with liability assumptions and guarantees. The conditions and criteria for funding differ for each programme. It is important to examine the respective funding programme in detail to ensure that it fits the company’s plans. Here, specialised advisors can support the company in identifying the appropriate funding and successfully completing the application process.
Making the most of Funding Options
A decisive criterion for successful processing of the funding programme is the right timing: A medium-sized company must take care of it early on if it wants to be funded in a certain area and submit the application before the project starts – otherwise the possible claims for funding will be forfeited. THE MAK`ED TEAM is familiar with financing strategies and subsidies. We create individual funding roadmaps for medium-sized companies. Depending on the type of project and the number of funding programmes, implementation quickly becomes demanding. But it is worth the effort, because your company benefits. For example, we assisted a medium-sized client with a project for the energy-efficient refurbishment of production buildings. With eligible costs of around EUR 1.1 million, subsidies of around 27.6% were realised.
Support by THE MAK`ED TEAM
In addition to advice on financing, companies can access our comprehensive expertise in topics that are relevant for SMEs in this context: Be it sustainability, internationalisation, digitalisation, ESG or supply chain. Companies facing important transformation processes should not miss the opportunity to receive funding. Regardless of whether the company already has concrete plans for funding or would like to get an overview of its own funding opportunities: the experienced advice provided by THE MAK`ED TEAM ensures a sensible selection, an efficient combination of different programmes and an optimal funding strategy.
