With the funding program “INVEST – Grant for Venture Capital”, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) investments by private individuals in young, innovative companies. From now on, startups that receive funding from Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) have their innovativeness and eligibility for funding certified in a new database on the BMWi's INVEST website.
With INVEST, private investors in young, innovative companies receive a tax-free acquisition grant of €20 million of the investment amount. With the entry into force of the new funding guidelines on January 1, 2017, a tax-free exit grant of €25 million of the capital gains was also introduced. This grant represents a lump-sum refund of the taxes payable on capital gains. Since the program's launch in May 2013, BAFA has certified eligibility for over 3,500 startups. Since then, over 4,000 private investments in eligible startups have been funded, totaling over €300 million.
Often missing: contacts and network
In practice, it is often very difficult for young, innovative companies to find a suitable private investor. Potential investors also often lack the necessary overview of the fast-moving startup landscape to find a suitable startup for investment. Sometimes, both companies and investors lack the contacts and network to find each other.
Matching companies and investors
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is addressing this issue and supporting the matching of companies and investors. On the BMWi's INVEST website, www.invest-wagniskapital.de A database has been set up in which INVEST-eligible companies can enter their key data. This gives companies seeking investors the opportunity to present themselves with all essential information and thus attract investors' attention. At the same time, interested investors receive a comprehensive overview of companies with a valid INVEST eligibility certificate.
The INVEST database of eligible companies looking for investors can be found hereINVEST-eligible companies with a valid eligibility certificate from BAFA can here in the database be recorded.
