Consulting support for small and medium-sized companies

Medium-sized companies are the backbone of the German economy.

Companies have to meet a wide range of requirements in order to maintain or improve their performance and competitiveness. There are currently also special challenges due to general economic development and changes due to demographic, digital and ecological change.

A subsidy towards the costs of a consulting measure is intended to make it easier for small and medium-sized companies to seek external advice.

Who is supported?

• Micro-enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the commercial sector and
• members of the liberal professions according to the EU definition of SMEs with their registered office and business operations or a branch in the Federal Republic of Germany.

The founding date is the day of the business registration, the entry in the commercial register or, in the case of freelancers, the registration with the tax office.

What is supported?

Conceptual and individually conducted consultations on all economic, financial, personnel and organizational issues of company management are supported. The funding program also supports the cross-sectoral principles of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF Plus) on gender equality, equal opportunities and non-discrimination, as well as on ecological sustainability. The respective business consultations must be carried out as individual consultations. Consultations may not exceed a duration of five days. Seminars and workshops are not funded.

The funding guidelines apply to all grant applications submitted from January 1, 2023. Within the period of validity of the funding guidelines (until December 31, 2026), each eligible company can receive funding for a maximum of five self-contained consultations, but no more than two per year. The decisive factor here is the time of application.

The application, the submission of proof of use and the upload of additional documents (upload area) can be made via the respective online portal.

All further information (including flyers) on the new funding guidelines and the procedure can be found below.

Flyer - Business Consulting