Guides
Start?Zuschuss!: Bavarian funding for digital startups in their first two years
50% of eligible costs up to €36,000 over 12 months. For one of 20 selected digital startups per funding round.
Key takeaways
Eligibility maths
Three hard conditions: (a) company founded in Bavaria with the Bavarian Handelsregister entry within the last 2 years measured at the call deadline; (b) digital-sector business model (BMWi reads this broadly: SaaS, marketplaces, AI, IoT, fintech, edtech, digital health all qualify); (c) total de-minimis aid received across the last 3 years stays below €300k including Start?Zuschuss!. Companies that recently received €264k+ in other de-minimis grants effectively can't take the full amount.
Two-stage application
Stage 1: short application through the StMWi online portal during the Sonder-Call window (~6-8 weeks/year). 10-15 pages: business model, digital-innovation core, market, team, planned use of funds. Stage 2: top 20 are invited to file the full Förderantrag with the local Regierung (depending on district). Stage 1 decisions come in ~6-8 weeks; from Stage 2 to first disbursement: ~3 months.
Stacking with other Bavarian programmes
Start?Zuschuss! is compatible with BAYTOU and BayStartUP prize money but not with EXIST Gründerstipendium (since the latter covers the same living-cost gap). The typical Bavarian path: Start?Zuschuss! in year 1-2 → BAYTOU concept-project funding for the second R&D push → BayStartUP rounds for the network and prize money. All three are de-minimis aid — track your cumulative ceiling.
FAQ
Frequently asked
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