Invest funding expires at the end of the year

So far, the German Federal Ministry of Economics has provided financial support for business angels. But it remains to be seen what will happen to the program.

Next year, the government's Invest program will come to an end. Originally, the program was intended to support business angels who invested at least 10,000 euros in startups. 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. A subsidy of up to 100,000 euros per year was thus possible, and even 200,000 euros for investment companies.

However, this regulation was already changed in March, as the funding volume had almost been used up 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 has been criticized by angel investors vs. Gründerszene criticized, as they have now often had to handle follow-on financing as some VCs have become more cautious due to the difficult market environment.

The German Federal Ministry of Economics launched the Invest 2013 funding program. The ministry does want to continue the funding, with just under 46 million euros already budgeted in the federal budget for 2023. But the funding guidelines are still unclear - so the program will not continue seamlessly. In a statement, the ministry points to unfinished coordination processes to adapt the guidelines to current crises such as inflation and the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine. Business angels will have to wait until they have clarity for the new year - the ministry did not give a specific date yet.