Invest funding expires at the end of the year

To date, the Federal Ministry of Economics has provided financial support for business angels. However, the future of the program remains to be seen.

The government's Invest funding program will come to an end next year. Originally, it was intended to support business angels who invested at least 10,000 euros in start-ups. The start-ups had to be no more than seven years old, have a maximum annual turnover of ten million euros and employ fewer than 50 people.

If these criteria were met, the investors received 20 percent of their investment back tax-free. Funding of up to 100,000 euros per year was possible, and even 200,000 euros for investment companies.

However, this regulation was already changed in March, as the funding volume was almost exhausted due to the high demand. Business angels no longer received funding for follow-up investments and the ministry raised the minimum investment to 25,000 euros.

This decision was criticized by angel investors to start-up scene This decision was criticized by angel investors, as they now often had to provide follow-up financing because some VCs had become more cautious due to the difficult market environment.

The Federal Ministry of Economics launched the Invest 2013 funding program. The ministry intends to continue the funding, with almost 46 million euros already planned in the federal budget for 2023. However, the funding guidelines are still unclear - so the program will not continue seamlessly. In a statement, the ministry referred to unfinished coordination processes to adapt the guidelines to current crises such as inflation and the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Business angels still have to wait until they have clarity for the new year - the ministry has not yet given a specific date.