ZIM: a grant for your innovation projects.
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
Engineer-led, and on your side
We started BeFunded after navigating Germany's funding maze for our own ventures. So we built the team we wished we'd had: engineers who know what assessors look for and guide you from first idea to approved grant, 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.
How a robotics company secured a ZIM grant for an autonomous-handling system in a cooperation project…
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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 guides
Long-form explainers from our knowledge hub, for teams who want the detail before they talk to us.
ZIM eligibility explained
Who qualifies, the SME definition ZIM uses, and the not-yet-started rule.
Read more → GuideSingle vs cooperation projects
When to apply alone and when partnering unlocks higher ceilings.
Read more → GuideWhat makes a strong application
How assessors judge innovation and risk, with what to prepare.
Read more → GuideZIM timing & decision
Year-round submission and how long a funding decision takes.
Read more → GuideZIM eligibility explained
Who qualifies, the SME definition ZIM uses, and the not-yet-started rule.
Read more → GuideSingle vs cooperation projects
When to apply alone and when partnering unlocks higher ceilings.
Read more → GuideWhat makes a strong application
How assessors judge innovation and risk, with what to prepare.
Read more → GuideZIM timing & decision
Year-round submission and how long a funding decision takes.
Read more →ZIM questions, answered
The most common questions on eligibility, amounts, timing and how the grant works. Short answer first, detail after.
ZIM (Zentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand) is Germany's largest technology-open funding program for SME innovation. It awards a non-repayable grant toward the cost of developing new products, processes and technical services. Unlike a tax incentive, it is applied for per project and decided case by case.
A single-company project can receive up to about €550,000; cooperation projects with partners can reach up to €2.3m in total. The grant covers 25–55% of eligible costs, depending on company size, project type and region.
Yes. ZIM must be applied for before the project begins. Work that has already started is not eligible, which is why it pays to assess fit early, while the project is still on the drawing board.
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; the test is the innovation, not the sector.
Both. You can apply alone (single-company project) or jointly with research institutes or other companies (cooperation project or innovation network). Cooperation unlocks higher ceilings and is often the stronger route.
Applications are accepted year-round with no fixed deadlines. From a complete submission, a funding decision typically takes a few months. We move quickly on the write-up so you can start as soon as approval lands.
We confirm fit, choose single vs cooperation, write the technical and economic parts of the application the way assessors want to read them, and manage the process to a decision. You provide the technical substance; we handle the rest.
Start with a free eligibility check. If we take your application on, we agree the terms upfront before any work begins, so there are no surprises. Request an assessment above and we'll lay it out clearly.