ESF Plus – Start-up Consulting
Grant for start-up consultations in Saxony: up to five daily units (€400 per unit) for new start-ups and up to ten daily units (€500 per unit) for business successions.
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Grant criteria
Funding objective
The Free State of Saxony supports consulting services in the pre-foundation phase to enable founders and successors to make well-founded decisions and receive support on economic, technical, financial, organizational, social, and ecological issues related to their project.
Eligible expenses
- Consulting services in the pre-startup phase (man-days)
Non-eligible expenses
- Preparation of a start-up or business plan
- Consulting services that predominantly concern legal, insurance, patent, or tax matters
- Consulting services of less than two working days
- Consulting services that are wholly or partially financed by other public grants (including Structural Funds)
Eligible to apply
- Founders
Funding requirements
- Main residence in the Free State of Saxony
- Company must not be founded or taken over before approval (date of business registration or tax office notification)
- Consulting contract must not be concluded at the time of application
- Proof of prior education relevant to the founding project (professional experience from self-employment or managerial position; commercial/business administration training or further education within the last two years; basic founding knowledge from start-up seminars within the last twelve months)
- Submission of an individual founding or business concept and a consulting recommendation from a competent authority
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Documents required for application
- Declaration of prior education relevant to the start-up consulting (if applicable, certificate of participation)
- Individual start-up or business concept
- Consultation recommendation from a competent authority
- Proof of the consultant's qualification
Description
The ESF Plus – Program for Start-up Consulting in Saxony specifically supports individual consulting services during the pre-start-up phase and in business succession. The aim is to provide founders and successors with a solid basis for decision-making by systematically examining economic, technical, financial, organizational, social, and ecological issues. Funding is provided for up to five working days at €400 each for new start-ups and up to ten working days at €500 each for business successions. The grant is a non-repayable subsidy that must be used within a maximum approval period of six months. The funding agency is the Saxon State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport (SMWA); applications and processing are handled by the Saxon Development Bank – Förderbank – (SAB).
Eligible applicants are natural persons with their main residence in the Free State of Saxony who plan a new start-up, intend to take up a freelance activity, or want to take over an existing company. A prerequisite is proof of relevant prior education for the project (e.g., professional experience in a management position, commercial training or further education within the last two years, as well as basic knowledge from start-up seminars). Furthermore, an individual start-up or business concept and a consulting recommendation from a competent authority must be submitted. Consulting contracts must not be concluded at the time of application, and the business registration date must precede the approval. Those already self-employed on a part-time basis, as well as start-ups in the fields of auditing, consulting, tax, legal, or notary services, are excluded. The application must be submitted before the start of the consulting and no later than two months after submission of the recommendation via the SAB funding portal.