GründungsBONUS Plus Berlin: Grant of up to €50,000

The GründungsBONUS Plus is a grant from the State of Berlin for young companies with a technological, digital, creative or social business model. It covers up to 50 percent of your eligible costs, at most €50,000 over two years. You pay the other half yourself. IBB Business Team GmbH accepts applications on behalf of the State of Berlin until 30 September 2027.

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Who is the GründungsBONUS Plus for?

Legally independent founders with a profit-oriented business can apply, as can micro-enterprises and social enterprises. The main requirements:

• When you apply, your company is at most 18 months old and a micro-enterprise, meaning fewer than ten employees and no more than €2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet total.
• Its registered office and business activity are in Berlin, and the head office stays there for at least three years.
• In a GmbH or UG, the founders hold the majority of the shares and run the company themselves.
• The business model is technological, digital, creative or social and has visible market and growth potential.

Construction, restaurants, hotels and retail are generally not funded. The IBB names exceptions for particularly sustainable approaches, for example a restaurant with an ecological concept or a mail-order business with sustainable products.

What the grant covers

According to the IBB, eligible costs are:

• material and investment costs
• running operating expenses
• personnel costs, including an entrepreneur’s salary for founders and managing directors of at most €2,000 per month and person
• external services, such as consulting or IT development
• IT and patent costs

All personnel costs together may make up at most 60 percent of the total grant. Costs incurred before the application are not funded.

How much you contribute yourself

The grant covers at most half of the eligible costs. To receive the full €50,000, you therefore need eligible costs of at least €100,000 over two years, and you provide the other half yourself, for example from your own funds or from revenue. Your own contribution belongs in your business plan and in the cost plan for the two funding years from the start.

How the application works

You submit the application in the electronic application system of IBB Business Team GmbH. The procedure usually has four steps:

1. Online application with business plan and cost plan
2. Review and follow-up questions from the IBB
3. Personal interview
4. Decision

How long this takes depends on how many applications are coming in. Expect several weeks to a few months.

Which documents you need

• Details about you and your company
• for a GmbH or UG, the articles of association
• a business plan in German with a cost plan and financial plan for the two funding years

The exact documents required are listed in the application system and in the IBB’s funding guideline. Check both before you apply, because the requirements can change.

Other funding programmes in Berlin

If the GründungsBONUS Plus doesn’t fit your venture, have a look at other IBB programmes, such as Pro FIT for research and development projects or ProNTI for innovative technology startups. Our guide to BAFA funding gives you an overview of federal funding.

Sources

• Investitionsbank Berlin: GründungsBONUS Plus
• IBB Business Team: application system and funding guideline
• Federal funding database: GründungsBONUS Plus