KfW and public funding: ERP-Gründerkredit, Bürgschaftsbanken, Gründungszuschuss and regional programmes

What you will learn

• The Hausbankprinzip: why you cannot apply to the KfW directly and why timing matters.
• The main routes as of 2026: ERP-Gründerkredit StartGeld, Bürgschaftsbanken, Gründungszuschuss and regional development banks.
• What a Haftungsfreistellung (release from liability) does for the bank and not for you.
• How grace years and a grant change the cash burden of the first years.

Explanation

General orientation only. Programme conditions change; check the current terms with your Hausbank, the KfW, your Bürgschaftsbank or the Agentur für Arbeit before you plan with them.

The Hausbank principle

The KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) is Germany's public development bank and has no branches for business customers. You apply through a Finanzierungspartner, normally your Hausbank, which checks your plan, submits the application and later pays out and collects the loan. Two consequences: the bank must still believe in your project, and the application must be made before you start the project, meaning before you sign purchase contracts. Money already spent is usually not eligible.

ERP-Gründerkredit StartGeld (KfW programme 067)

As of 2026 this is the standard loan for founders, freelancers and firms on the market for less than five years (counted from first revenue), including part-time businesses and company successions. Key terms per the KfW information sheet of June 2026: up to €200,000 per project (raised from €125,000 in December 2025), of which at most €80,000 working capital; a fixed rate for the whole term; up to 5 years with 1 repayment-free year or up to 10 years with 2; and an 80 percent Haftungsfreistellung for the Hausbank. No minimum equity is required, but own funds help. Larger projects use the ERP-Förderkredit Gründung und Nachfolge.

What the Haftungsfreistellung means: if the loan defaults, the KfW carries 80 percent of the bank's loss and the bank only 20 percent. This is why banks approve StartGeld loans with little collateral. It does not reduce what you owe: you are liable for 100 percent, and the bank will still ask for a personal guarantee.

Bürgschaftsbanken

Each federal state has a Bürgschaftsbank (guarantee bank). It issues a default guarantee (Ausfallbürgschaft) to your bank when you lack collateral: typically up to 80 percent of the loan and up to €2 million per borrower in many states (check yours). You pay a one-off processing fee and an annual commission, so the loan becomes a little more expensive but possible. Applications go through the Hausbank; several states also offer a Bürgschaft ohne Bank route for smaller amounts where you approach the Bürgschaftsbank first.

Gründungszuschuss

The Gründungszuschuss is a grant from the Agentur für Arbeit for people who start a full-time business while receiving unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld I). As of 2026: phase 1 pays the previous ALG I plus €300 per month for six months; phase 2 can pay €300 per month for nine more months on a separate application. Requirements: at least 150 days of remaining ALG I entitlement, at least 15 hours per week, and a fachkundige Stellungnahme (viability opinion, for example from the IHK or Handwerkskammer). It is discretionary, tax-free and not repaid. It funds the founder's living costs, which reduces the working-capital block from lesson 1.

Regional and special programmes

Every state has a development bank (for example NRW.BANK, LfA Förderbank Bayern, Investitionsbank Berlin) with its own start-up loans and grants, often with better terms for innovation or energy efficiency, and microloan programmes exist for founders that banks turn away. The federal Förderdatenbank lists them all. Grants are rarer than loans and almost always require applying before spending.

Worked example

Hypothetical example: Mert leaves a job, receives ALG I of €1,400 per month and founds a cleaning company. Assumed interest rate and simplified annual payments are hypothetical; fees, taxes and insurance are excluded.

Gründungszuschuss

Phase 1: 6 × (€1,400 + €300) = €10,200. Phase 2 (if granted): 9 × €300 = €2,700. Total €12,900 of tax-free support for living costs over 15 months.

StartGeld with grace years

Loan: €60,000 over 10 years, 2 repayment-free years, hypothetical fixed 4 percent. Years 1 and 2: interest only, €60,000 × 4 % = €2,400 per year, or €200 per month. From year 3: eight equal repayments of €60,000 ÷ 8 = €7,500 plus interest on the balance. Year 3: €7,500 + €2,400 = €9,900 (€825 per month); year 4: €7,500 + €52,500 × 4 % = €9,600. The burden jumps from €200 to €825 per month in year 3, so the plan must show enough cash flow by then.

Haftungsfreistellung

If the business fails with €60,000 outstanding, the bank's own loss is at most 20 % × €60,000 = €12,000; the KfW carries €48,000. Mert still owes €60,000 and signed a personal guarantee.

Common mistake

Practice activity

On paper: Aylin receives ALG I of €1,100 per month and plans a full-time business. Her Hausbank proposes a €100,000 StartGeld loan at a hypothetical fixed 3.5 percent, ten years, two repayment-free years. Calculate (a) the total Gründungszuschuss if both phases are granted, (b) annual interest and monthly burden in the grace years, (c) the bank's maximum own loss with an 80 percent Haftungsfreistellung if the full loan defaults, and (d) the annual repayment from year 3.

Key takeaways

• Public loans in Germany run through the Hausbank and must be applied for before the project starts.
• As of 2026 the ERP-Gründerkredit StartGeld offers up to €200,000 with an 80 percent Haftungsfreistellung for the bank; you still owe 100 percent.
• Bürgschaftsbanken replace missing collateral for a fee; the Gründungszuschuss funds the founder's living costs, not the business.
• Grace years lower the early burden but create a jump in year 3 that the plan must show.

Next step

Not every asset needs to be bought; the next lesson compares leasing and hire purchase with a loan, including the balance-sheet effect.