Funding for Trade Fairs & Exhibitions in Germany

A trade fair appearance can be a real growth driver for your company – but booth rental, booth construction, logistics, personnel, and marketing costs add up quickly. This is exactly where trade fair & exhibition funding comes in: funding programs help you reduce costs and present yourself more professionally, so that visibility translates into measurable leads, partnerships, and new markets.

Currently, the funding focus is primarily on internationalization and export: many programs specifically support SMEs and startups in participating in trade fairs abroad or at leading German trade fairs with a strong innovation focus. At the same time, transformation and future topics are gaining importance – such as energy efficiency, sustainability/ESG, more resilient supply chains, as well as the digitalization of sales and trade fair processes (e.g., hybrid formats, digital marketing, or structured lead management).

It is important to note: the funding logic is often strict. SME criteria frequently apply, there are fixed deadlines, and not every trade fair is automatically eligible for funding. Therefore, it is worthwhile to prepare a booth concept, a clear cost plan, and above all a clear impact narrative early on: Which target markets do you want to enter, which target customers are you addressing, and what specific results do you expect?

The Reflecta Funding Compass supports you in quickly finding suitable programs from the federal government, states, and other actors, checking requirements, and planning the next steps toward your application in a structured way. It is best to start with a brief check: trade fair goal, target group, location of your company, and schedule – from this, it usually becomes clear which funding is realistic.