Innovation Financing
Promotional loans for medium-sized enterprises in Baden-Württemberg to finance innovations with interest subsidies and, if applicable, repayment grants. Program start 07/01/2025. House bank procedure.
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Grant criteria
Funding objective
Small and medium-sized as well as larger medium-sized enterprises in Baden-Württemberg can finance their expenses for development, production setup, and marketing of new or improved products, services, processes, or business models through innovation funding.
Eligible expenses
- Development costs (R&D expenditure)
- Investments in tangible assets and operating resources
- Animal testing with AI applications
- Types of expenses according to funding levels
Non-eligible expenses
- Replacement and modernization investments
- Company acquisition (share deals)
- Financial investments and debt financing
- Promotion of fossil fuel heating boilers
- Projects outside Baden-Württemberg
Eligible to apply
- Companies
- Cooperatives
- Founders
Funding requirements
- Companies headquartered and operating in Baden-Württemberg
- Small and medium-sized enterprises according to the EU definition (max. 250 employees, max. €50 million turnover or €43 million balance sheet total) or larger privately owned companies with max. €500 million annual turnover
- For basic innovations (Level 1a): Established companies for at least 5 years
- For LevelUp and HighEnd: Development of innovative products, processes, or AI applications
Documents required for application
- Application form WF_1001
- Confirmation of funding application (WF_1103)
- Product information sheet Innovation Financing
- Program information sheet Innovation Financing
- SME information sheet
- De-minimis information sheet
- Risk-based interest rate system information sheet
- KfW exclusion list
- Loan application forms WF_1001
- Funding application attachments WF_1001
- De-minimis declaration WF_1332
- State aid application WF_1301
- Data protection notices WF_1420
- Subsidy-relevant facts WF_2201
Evaluation criteria
- Degree of innovation (funding level 1–3)
- Financing needs and amount of funding
- Location in Baden-Württemberg
- Creditworthiness and collateral
Description
The innovation financing provided by L-Bank in Baden-Württemberg supports medium-sized enterprises with low-interest loans through the house bank procedure. Starting from the program launch on 01.07.2025, three funding levels (Basic, LevelUp, and HighEnd) with increasing intensity will be available. Eligible for funding are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as larger medium-sized companies in private ownership with an annual turnover of up to €500 million. Refinancing is carried out in cooperation with KfW and the Bürgschaftsbank Baden-Württemberg. SMEs can additionally receive a repayment grant from L-Bank as well as an ERP funding grant from KfW in funding levels 2 and 3. Funds can be used for the development, production setup, and marketing of new or significantly improved products, services, processes, or business models – ranging from initial basic innovations through project-related R&D initiatives to highly AI-based HighEnd projects. The funding range extends from €10,000 to €5 million for SMEs (up to €25 million for larger companies). Terms of 5, 7, or 10 years with 0–2 grace years and up to 10 years fixed interest rate provide planning security.
Prerequisites for application are a company headquarters and proof of activity in Baden-Württemberg, as well as compliance with the EU SME definition or a turnover limit of €500 million. Application documents include, in addition to the funding application (WF_1001), the confirmation of the funding application (WF_1103) and state aid evidence such as the De-minimis information sheet. House banks assess creditworthiness, collateral, and degree of innovation (funding levels) and forward the application to L-Bank. Upon successful review, the loan commitment, fund disbursement, and support with proof of use follow. For AI innovations, L-Bank offers a free AI check with experts to validate technical prerequisites. The application must be submitted before the start of the project; later submissions are only permitted in justified cases. This funding offer sustainably strengthens the innovative capacity and competitiveness of the Baden-Württemberg medium-sized sector.
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