Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katherina Reiche:
With the complete digitalization of the application process, we are setting standards for a modern, digital funding policy and making innovation in SMEs faster and easier to access. In this way, we are creating speed, transparency and trust and bringing Germany forward again. SMEs are the heart, backbone and powerhouse of our economy. Without them, neither training nor research, neither integration nor defense capability can succeed. With 500 million euros in the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs, we are specifically supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to turn ideas into marketable products.
Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy and Federal Government Commissioner for SMEs, Gitta Connemann, emphasizes:
Innovation needs speed. Our SMEs are full of ideas and energy. With ZIM, we are giving them a boost. A strong program that has been working for years – and is now becoming even simpler, more digital and faster. We have listened. We have simplified and digitized processes and reduced bureaucracy. This allows our creative entrepreneurs to concentrate on the essentials. So that new ideas and products don’t end up in drawers, but in workshops, start-ups and on global markets. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular benefit from the simplified application process – thanks to less effort and easier access. This leaves more room for innovation.
The German Funding Agency guides applicants step by step through the application process. In future, applications for funding will be completely digital and require no signature. We use secure authentication in accordance with the Online Access Act. ZIM applications can be created and submitted digitally. In the future, the complete administration of ZIM projects will also be possible via the platform without media discontinuity.
In detail about the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM)
The Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM) is a nationwide funding program that is open to all technologies and industries. ZIM aims to sustainably strengthen the innovative power and thus the competitiveness of SMEs, including young and small companies, the skilled trades and the liberal professions. It is intended to contribute to economic growth, in particular by tapping into value creation potential and the application-oriented transfer of knowledge between industry and research.
Further information is continuously updated at www.zim.de/fzd.
Funding Center Germany (FZD)
Funding Center Germany is the new online portal of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) for applying for funding. In future, the digital platform will offer a central point of contact for those interested in funding, where they can find out about suitable offers and apply for funding directly and securely online. Further federal funding programs will gradually be made accessible via the Förderzentrale Deutschland. In the long term, the portal is intended to provide a central platform for those interested in funding from the federal, state and local governments.
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Further links
👉 www.bundeswirtschaftsministerium.de
Photo: Unsplash
