Berlin-based founders say they have been left in limbo after applying for a government grant that was on pause for a year, despite continuing to accept applications throughout.
The grant, known as the GründungsBONUS, provides startups — based in Berlin and no older than 18 months — with up to €50k. It’s funded by the Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB), a body funded by the Senate Department for Economic Affairs and aimed at boosting economic development.
“The bonus is a really big deal, it would have solved a lot of our problems,” says a Berlin-based healthtech founder Sifted spoke with, who requested anonymity to speak freely.
The IBB tells Sifted it has received new funds from the Senate and that application decisions will resume soon.
“I'm realistic about German bureaucracy”
Eva Egg, founder of five-person startup Scripe, applied for the grant in March 2024 and says she was told by founders in her network to anticipate a six-month wait. A year and five months later, she’s still waiting to hear back.
“We would probably have hired one more person if we had the €50k,” Egg says, “or spent a little bit more on marketing to grow more.”
Egg says she hasn’t heard of any founders receiving the GründungsBONUS in the last two and a half years. The IBB did not respond when asked when the last person to receive a grant did so.
Agnieszka Walorska, founder of AI accounting agent Mika, says she applied for the grant two years ago this month and is still waiting for a decision.
“I'm realistic about German bureaucracy, and especially the Berlin inability to manage anything,” she says, explaining that she has not factored the grant into her financial planning because of the uncertainty.
Funds soon to be released
The IBB tells Sifted that funding for the GründungsBONUS, which comes from the Berlin state, was ended at the end of 2023.
A year later, in December 2024, a new programme, GründungsBONUS Plus, was put in place, though no applications have been processed through it so far.
“The funds for the new funding programme GründungsBONUS Plus have now been released by the state of Berlin, so together with the members of the funding committee we will decide on the applications as soon as possible,” a spokesperson for the IBB told Sifted. The IBB did not specify when the funds were released to it.
Founders Sifted spoke with were not aware that the programme had been paused, as the online portal had remained open to new applications throughout.
“Why are they still advertising this programme and giving people false hope?” questions Walorska.
The IBB says it added a note to the website saying the funding had been paused in December 2023. It said it could not provide Sifted with a link as the website had since changed. The IBB said it also launched a webpage announcing the new programme in December last year.
The portal remained open throughout the pause, the IBB says, because “applications for the new funding programme could be submitted before the guidelines came into force.”
