On 1 April 2020, the Federal Ministry of Finance alongside the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy have announced a tailored start-up aid programme worth EUR 2 billion, to combat COVID-19 related recession.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier stated that in many cases, regular credit instruments would not fit small innovative start-ups. Therefore, the federal government will introduce a Corona-support to boost innovative technology businesses and SMEs in addition to other state aid measures already in place.
The new programme is supplementing the existing COVID-19 related aid-programmes, for which start-ups are still eligible to apply. Additionally, venture capital financing is set to be expanded to facilitate the continuation of financing rounds for promising innovative start-ups from Germany, with the goal to secure jobs and innovation in Germany.
The set of measures includes the following elements which will be implemented gradually (implementation periods still pending):
Parallel to the implementation of the announced measures, the German Federal Government continues to adapt the structure of the future Fund for Start-ups (total value EUR 10 billion) in order to pave the way out of the crisis in a timely reasonable manner.
Written with the kind assistance of Silan Lönnecker
Last reviewed: 02 April 2020