Hesse launches billion-euro investment fund for start-ups and SMEs

BMH takes over management of the new HessenFonds. The focus is on transformation, innovation and corporate growth.

Wiesbaden, April 24, 2025 - With the new HessenFonds, the state of Hesse is setting a central economic policy impulse for the coming years. The fund, with a total volume of one billion euros, is intended to support start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with innovation, transformation and growth. BMH Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen mbH is responsible for managing the investment part of the fund.

Equity capital for future projects

Of the funds made available, 250 million euros will flow into the new HessenFonds Beteiligungen GmbH, which will finance companies in all phases of development through equity investments. The remaining 750 million euros will be granted as loans via the Wirtschafts- und Infrastrukturbank Hessen (WIBank). The fund is scheduled to run until 2034.

Flexible investment models between 200,000 and 10 million euros

BMH will grant investments from 200,000 euros up to a maximum of 10 million euros per company. Both silent partnerships (usually with an eight-year term) and direct investments will be used. The aim is to support Hessian companies with investments in digitalization, research and development, automation or restructuring. Company successions can also be supported via the fund.

We see ourselves as a partner at eye level - the HessenFonds creates new scope for technology and market-oriented development steps.

Jürgen Zabel, Managing Director BMH

According to Dr. Steffen Huth, Managing Director of BMH, the fund is aimed at companies with sustainable and future-oriented business models. The aim is to provide targeted capital "where it is needed for growth, transformation and innovation".

Another building block of the Hessian economic strategy

With the HessenFonds, the state government is pursuing a long-term strategy to strengthen Hessen as a business location. The new fund complements existing funding offers and aims to improve the supply of capital to both young and established companies - against the backdrop of structural change, digitalization and global competition.

BMH Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen mbH, based in Wiesbaden, was founded in 2001 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Helaba. It currently manages six investment funds with a volume of over 200 million euros and specializes in venture capital and equity financing in the areas of software, fintech, life science, deep tech, cleantech and other industrial technologies. Since its foundation, it has invested in more than 500 companies and regularly appears in our Startbase news.