- Funding Body: KfW – Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (on behalf of the German federal government)
- Contact: House bank principle (application is submitted through your primary bank, not directly to KfW)
- Funding Region: Germany (nationwide)
- Target Group:
- Founders
- Freelancers
- Small businesses
- Solo self-employed
- Start-ups Business successors
- Part-time founders (with a perspective on transitioning to full-time)
- Non-profit organisations (newly eligible)
- Type of Funding: Low-interest promotional loan
- Funding Amount: Up to €125,000 per project – of which up to €50,000 can be used for working capital
- Eligible for Funding:
- Founding of companies and organisations
- Strengthening young companies (up to 5 years after founding)
- Investments (e.g. equipment, technology, digitalisation)
- Working capital (e.g. rent, marketing, ongoing costs)
- Business takeovers
- Full-time and part-time start-ups
- Projects of non-profit organisations, provided they are economically viable
- Key features:
- Up to 80 % liability exemption for the house bank
- Little or no standard bank collateral required
- Open to non-profit organisations
- The programme is not specifically aimed at social enterprises, but can be used by socially oriented and common-good organisations
- Can be combined with other funding programmes
- Organizational Phase: Founding stage and early company phase (up to 5 years after founding)
- Goal: To make financing more accessible for founders and young companies through favourable conditions and reduced risk for the lending bank.
- Relevance for social enterprises: The ERP Start-up Loan – StartGeld is not a funding programme specifically designed for social enterprises, but it is well suited as a complementary financing option for socially oriented, non-profit or hybrid organisations with a viable business model.
- More information: ERP-Gründerkredit – StartGeld (067) | KfW
