ZIM funding consultant: your innovation grant, done for you.
The Zentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand co-funds R&D for German SMEs, on your own or with research partners. We find the right call, write the application and manage it to approval.
Germany's largest grant for SME innovation
The Zentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand (ZIM) is a nationwide BMWK program that co-funds ambitious R&D for German small and mid-size companies. It is technology-open, runs year-round, and is the country's most-used innovation grant.
Crucially, ZIM is a grant, not a loan: the money is non-repayable and you give up no equity. You can read the full detail on eligibility, costs and process further down.
What ZIM funds, and who qualifies
ZIM supports the development of new products, processes and technical services that carry real innovation risk. One rule matters most: you must apply before the project starts. If your plan is ambitious and not yet begun, the costs below are eligible and most German SMEs qualify.
What's covered
Eligible costs across single-company R&D projects, cooperation projects and innovation networks.
Salaries of the staff developing the project, usually the largest share of an application.
Work commissioned from research institutes or specialist partners as part of the project.
Project-related consumables and equipment costs needed to build and test the innovation.
Joint projects with partners or research institutes, with higher ceilings up to €2.3m.
Studies that prepare and de-risk a larger R&D project can also be supported.
Who qualifies
ZIM is built for the German Mittelstand. The bar is an established SME with a genuinely innovative, not-yet-started project.
Small and mid-size companies, including the extended Mittelstand definition ZIM uses.
A business establishment in Germany carrying out the R&D work.
Not an undertaking in difficulty; able to co-finance its share of the project.
ZIM is applied for before the project begins. Work already underway is not eligible.
A clear technical advance with an uncertain outcome, beyond routine development.
What a ZIM grant is worth
ZIM grants scale with the type of project and who you work with. A solo R&D project is funded differently from a cooperation with research partners, and the rate moves with your company size and region. These are the ceilings to plan around.
Your own R&D project, developed in-house. The most common entry point for an SME's first ZIM application.
Two or more partners, or a company with a research institute. Higher ceilings and the strongest route for ambitious R&D.
Share of eligible costs paid as a non-repayable grant, depending on company size, project type and region.
Go further with cooperation projects
ZIM is one of the few German grants that actively rewards working together. Partnering with a research institute or another company raises the funding ceiling and often strengthens the application, and we set the whole arrangement up for you.
Single-company R&D
You develop in-house. Simplest to run, funded up to €550k, best for an SME's first, focused project.
Company & research partner
Team up with a university or institute for deeper expertise and higher ceilings, when you need external R&D capacity.
Innovation network
Several companies and institutes around one theme, run as a funded ZIM network, for larger, shared goals.
From first call to funding
Four steps. You stay focused on the work; we handle the funding end to end, on a success-based fee.
Eligibility check
We review your project against the programme's criteria, confirm it qualifies and give you a realistic figure before you commit any time.
Application
You tell us what you are working on; we build the application, write the technical case and manage the entire submission for you.
Submission & review
We file with the responsible authority in your name and handle every query through to the funding decision.
Funding
Once approved, we prepare the required reporting so the funding is released to you, accurately documented and on time.
See if your project fits ZIM
Tell us about your project. One of our funding advisors reviews your case by hand, then either comes back with feedback or a few follow-up questions. No obligation.
- Whether ZIM is the right fit, or another program
- A first read on the grant amount
- What to prepare before the project starts
Founder-led, and on your side
We started BeFunded after navigating Germany's funding maze for the companies we built before. So we created the team we wished we'd had back then: technical founders who know the application from their own experience and guide you from first idea to payout, founder to founder.
your BeFunded teamRight program first
We match your project to the program that actually fits, ZIM or another, before you commit.
Individual approach
Technical argumentation written for your project, never a template.
End-to-end
From the first eligibility check through writing and submission to approval.
Application-ready
Documentation built the way the funding body wants to read it.
ZIM in practice
Real projects we have taken through ZIM, from first scoping to the funding decision. Anonymised, figures as orders of magnitude.
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Read the storyWhere ZIM tends to fit
ZIM is technology-open, so almost any field with genuine development risk can apply. Here is how it usually lands in the sectors we work in most.
ZIM questions, answered
The most common questions on eligibility, amounts, timing and how the grant works. Short answer first, detail after.
Yes. The same costs cannot be funded twice, but many companies run a ZIM project and claim the research allowance for other R&D work. We structure the split cleanly.
ZIM funds the development of new products, processes and technical services with a non-repayable grant. It is Germany's largest technology-open innovation programme for SMEs and is applied for per project.
ZIM covers 25–55% of eligible costs, depending on company size, project type and region. A single-company project can receive up to about €550,000, cooperation projects up to €2.3m in total.
ZIM must be applied for before your project starts. Work already under way is not eligible, so assess fit early, while the project is still being planned.
ZIM is open to established German SMEs with up to 1,000 employees that are economically healthy and pursuing a genuinely innovative, risk-laden project. There is no industry restriction.
Yes, ZIM funds single-company projects as well as cooperation projects with research institutes or other companies, and innovation networks. Cooperation unlocks higher ceilings and is often the stronger route.
A ZIM funding decision typically takes a few months from a complete submission. Applications are accepted year-round with no fixed deadlines, and we keep the write-up fast.
BeFunded confirms fit, chooses single versus cooperation, writes the technical and economic parts of the application the way assessors want to read them, and manages the process to a decision.
ZIM support starts with a free eligibility check. If we take your application on, terms are agreed upfront before any work begins, with no surprises. Request an assessment above.