29. March 2018
Drivers of the digital upswing: Digitalbonus, Initiative Wirtschaft 4.0, go digital & Co.
Public funding programmes equip small and medium-sized enterprises for the challenges of the digital world.
Digitalisation – taking stock
Even though Germany is one of the most innovative countries, there are clear weaknesses when it comes to digitalisation: According to the “Innovation Indicator 2017” study, it lags well behind other industrialised nations in a corresponding ranking at 17th place. There is a need to catch up in areas such as digital business models and broadband expansion. Although the topic has been on the political agenda for years and, according to a study by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, it is also firmly anchored in the consciousness of almost all players in the construction industry, the Roland Berger report “The digitalisation of the construction industry” shows that there is a lack of implementation and many potentials remain untapped. For example, digital devices are still far from standard in the construction sector. In most of the companies surveyed, only a maximum of 20 per cent of employees have access to a tablet. In just under a third of the companies, only 20 to 40 per cent of employees even work with a PC or the internet.
Support programmes for greater competitiveness and growth
Looking at the status quo, it is clear that the race to catch up digitally cannot be achieved exclusively with global players. The transformation of small and medium-sized companies also needs to be boosted and the federal and state governments are working hard to achieve this with their own funding programmes and initiatives. They are paving the way for companies that want to digitise their products, processes and services with innovative information and communication technology and improve their IT security at a manageable financial risk. Government start-up aid is available for both external and internal digitisation purposes. Whether for hardware and software, personnel, consulting and services, training, research and development contracts, etc. – the specific funding depends on the individual conditions of the respective offer, and the focus varies depending on the federal state. Anyone in the construction industry who modernises their IT infrastructure now, e.g. purchases mobile devices, introduces a document management system, switches to digital defect management or automated incoming invoice workflow, secures decisive competitive advantages in the long term.
Loan, grant or company participation?
In order to be able to make the necessary investments for digitalisation, entrepreneurs have access to loans with favourable interest rates or grants. Some development funds are linked to a pro rata release from liability for the house bank, i.e. it does not bear the risk alone as usual but together with the development bank. This is an advantage for riskier projects, as the reduced liability favours the motivation of banks and savings banks to grant loans even to entrepreneurs and founders with less collateral. In some cases, financial injections via funds are also possible: they provide entrepreneurs with capital at attractive conditions and in return receive open or silent participations in the company.
Time is money
Some funding pots are exhausted just a few weeks after they are made available, so timing is of the essence. If you want to avoid long waiting times, you should not ignore the respective submission deadline when preparing an application. The more mature the ideas and concepts are formulated in the application, the quicker a decision can be expected from the funding organisation. Financing options must always be clarified in advance; none of the programmes are designed for retroactive payments. In the case of state aid for the start-up phase, the respective information on the company age must not be exceeded – in principle, haste is required here!
An overview of interesting funding programmes for digital projects
Germany-wide
Bavaria
Baden-Württemberg
Saarland
Rheinland-Pfalz
Hessen
Thüringen
Saxony
North Rhine-Westphalia
Lower Saxony
- Innovation funding programme for research and development in companies
- Low-threshold innovation funding for SMEs and the skilled trades
