Digitalize your business and get up to 70% of your money back
2020 is the best year to apply for a corresponding subsidy. Since assuming the EU Council Presidency, Germany has made digital development and EU digital sovereignty a priority as part of Europe’s post-corona reconstruction.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which invest into digital technologies and skills with its new funding program “Digital Jetzt”. In this article we explain to you eligibility requirements and a step by step application process.
On September 7th, 2020, the application will be available through the website of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). Here is the link to the application portal (will activate 07.09.20): Digital Jetzt
Get up to 70% of your investment back
Why should you consider this funding program? If you have a promising and clear digitalisation plan, you can recover up to 70% of the costs or maximum 50,000 Euros for individual companies.
Maximum subsidy amount for investments made by companies in value chains and networks is up to 100,000 Euros.
You are eligible for funding if your company:
- is a legally independent company in the commercial sector;
- employs between 3 and 499 employees at the time of application;
- is a German company or has a branch in Germany where the investment is made;
- does not exceed the maximum subsidy amount permitted under the “de minimis” provisions.
Two digitalisation strategies can be subsidized. Pick one or both – up to you.
You are free to choose whether you want to invest into the acquisition of hardware and software such as:
- artificial intelligence;
- cloud applications;
- big data;
- equipment (sensors, 3D printing, etc.);
- IT security and data protection.
…or you can invest into training your employees to provide them with the necessary digital skills.
How much can you get back from what you invested?
Basically, the smaller your enterprise is, the more you can get back from what you invested:
- Under 50 employees: up to 50% of invested funds back
- Under 250 employees: up to 45% back
- Under 499 employees: up to 40% back
On top of that, if you are planning to make an investment in a company located in structurally weak regions (such as Berlin) you get +10%.
If you decide to invest with “friends” (companies in value chains and networks) you get another +5%.
If your investments focuses on IT security (incl. data protection) +5% more.
Voila: 70% of your investment is reimbursed!
This sounds interesting. But what’s the catch?
First and foremost, you may not start your digitalization project before funding is approved. You need to take the following steps first:
- Prepare a 1-year digitalization plan
- Apply for funding
- Wait for approval
- Start the digitalization measures (1 year)
- Prove the use of funds
- Get your money back
The trickiest part of this funding program is to develop a persuasive and clear digitalization plan.
Get in touch with us and receive a free consultation. At Venture Leap we help companies implement their digitalization projects. We can also help you apply for ‘Digital Jetzt’ funding.
