# Digitalisation Grants Berlin: What Is Still Open in 2026

> Berlin no longer has a general grant for small-business digitalisation. The Digitalprämie and the Berliner InvestitionsBONUS have both closed. What remains in October 2026 is the Transfer BONUS for tech-oriented SMEs, the GründungsBONUS Plus for young companies, a 50 percent federal consulting subsidy, and loans from IBB and KfW.

- URL: https://spreesolutions.de/en/funding/digitalisation-grants-berlin/
- Language: en
- Updated: 2026-10-19
- Publisher: Spree Solutions (OnlineBuilders LLC, https://onlinebuilders.biz)

If you moved your business to Berlin after 2023, you missed the city's most generous small-business programme. The Digitalprämie Berlin paid half of the cost of tills, online shops and software, up to 17,000 euros. Applications closed on 31 December 2023 and nothing comparable replaced it.

The Berlin Chamber of Skilled Crafts says it bluntly on its funding page: the programmes for digitalisation investments were discontinued because of tight budgets at federal and state level. That is the honest starting point for anyone planning a digital project in Berlin in late 2026.

## Which digitalisation grants are still open in Berlin?

Here is what was accepting applications in October 2026, taken from the programme pages of IBB (Berlin's state development bank), its subsidiary IBB Business Team, BAFA and KfW.

**Open programmes for small Berlin businesses, October 2026**

| | Type | Rate / amount | Eligible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer BONUS, digitalisation track | grant | up to 70 %, max €45,000 | tech-oriented SMEs, once per company |
| GründungsBONUS Plus | grant | 50 %, max €50,000 | companies up to 18 months old with a tech, digital, creative or social model |
| BAFA consulting subsidy | grant | 50 % of max €3,500 | all SMEs and freelancers |
| IBB Mikrokredit | loan | up to €50,000 | founders and small Berlin firms |
| KfW ERP digitalisation loan (511/512) | loan + grant | 3 % or 5 % bonus from level 2 | SMEs and freelancers |
| Berlin Kredit Transformation | loan | usually €50,000 to €10m | SMEs with growth projects |

Source: IBB, IBB Business Team, BAFA, KfW programme pages, retrieved October 2026

Notice the gap. Nothing on this list simply pays part of the bill when a café buys a new till or a hair salon adds online booking. Our explainer on [what happened to the Digitalprämie](https://spreesolutions.de/en/funding/digitalpraemie-berlin-ended/) covers the closed programmes in detail.

## Programmes you will still find in old blog posts

Expat forums and agency blogs keep recommending schemes that are gone. As of October 2026:

- **Digitalprämie Berlin:** last applications 31 December 2023.
- **Berliner InvestitionsBONUS:** closed, and IBB Business Team states it "will not be relaunched".
- **Coaching BONUS:** no longer in IBB Business Team's programme list.
- **go-digital (federal):** its last extension ran until the end of 2024.
- **Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Berlin:** federal funding ended on 30 September 2026.

The InvestitionsBONUS hurt most. It was explicitly aimed at retail, hospitality, tourism and craft businesses, exactly the sectors where many international founders in Berlin start out.

## The Transfer BONUS is generous, with strings attached

Up to 70 percent of costs, capped at 45,000 euros, sounds like the missing replacement. It is narrower than that.

Applicants must be tech-oriented SMEs based in Berlin. Non-tech firms qualify only "in justified exceptional cases" where the project has a clear technology focus. The work has to be done by a university, a research institute or a technology-oriented development firm. Freelance web designers tweaking a shop theme will usually not count.

Fundable topics include sensors, embedded systems, human-machine interfaces and software engineering, security included. Each company can use the digitalisation track once. Work may only start after approval, and the current guideline expires at the end of 2026. If you run a small manufacturing business and want to retrofit machines with sensors and analyse the data, call the Transfer BONUS team. If you want a new Shopify store, don't bother.

## GründungsBONUS Plus and the IBB microloan for young companies

Newer companies get a better deal. The GründungsBONUS Plus covers 50 percent of expenses incurred within two years of your application, up to 50,000 euros. Your company must already be registered and no older than 18 months, and the founders need to hold the majority of shares. The business model has to be technological, digital, creative or social. Salaries count, but founders and managing directors are capped at 2,000 euros a month each.

You can pair it with IBB's Mikrokredit: up to 50,000 euros over six years, with one year interest-only and no standard bank collateral apart from a personal guarantee. IBB warns that processing currently takes longer because of high demand. Plan for that.

## Federal options that work for Berlin firms

The BAFA consulting subsidy runs until 31 December 2026. Berlin gets the rate for the former West German states: 50 percent of eligible consulting costs up to 3,500 euros, so at most 1,750 euros. Plenty of English-language guides quote 80 percent for "eastern Germany". That rate excludes Berlin. Our page on the [BAFA consulting grant](https://spreesolutions.de/en/funding/bafa-consulting-grant/) walks through the application.

KfW's ERP digitalisation loan (programme numbers 511 and 512) finances hardware, software, cloud migration and IT security, and it can also cover running costs of a digital project. At level 1, "basic digitalisation", you get a cheap loan only, after completing KfW's free online digitalisation check. Level 2 adds a grant of 3 percent of the amount paid out, level 3 adds 5 percent, capped at 200,000 euros. The 511 variant has no minimum loan amount. You apply through your bank, and the [KfW programme page](https://www.kfw.de/inlandsfoerderung/Unternehmen/Innovation-und-Digitalisierung/F%C3%B6rderprodukte/ERP-F%C3%B6rderkredit-Digitalisierung-%28511-512%29/) lists what each level covers.

## The tax rule that beats most grants

Since a Federal Ministry of Finance circular of 22 February 2022, businesses in Germany may depreciate computer hardware, including peripherals, and software over one year. Technically it is ordinary depreciation over a one-year life rather than an immediate write-off, but the effect is the same. That laptop, that till PC, that licence: the full cost reduces this year's taxable profit.

**Example: replacing the till system in a Berlin café**

- Till, tablets, printer, licences: €6,000
- Consultant for the process change: €3,500
- BAFA subsidy (50 % of €3,500): − €1,750
- Tax saved via one-year depreciation (35 % of €6,000): − €2,100
- **Remaining net cost: €5,650**

Assumptions: €6,000 net hardware and software that count as computer hardware or software under the circular, €3,500 BAFA-subsidised consulting, 35 % marginal income tax rate. Simplified, trade tax ignored.

The consultant's fee is also deductible, which this example leaves out on purpose. Even so, the pattern is clear. With the Digitalprämie gone, the tax code does more for small projects than any Berlin programme. Your Steuerberater can give you the right rate.

## Getting the order right

Most rejected applications fail on sequence, not substance. Describe the project in two sentences. Get free advice first: IBB's customer service, the IHK Berlin funding team, the Chamber of Skilled Crafts or the state-funded Digitalagentur Berlin. Then apply. Only after that do you sign offers.

**Sequence for a funded digital project**

1. **Write two sentences** What you will buy or build, and which problem it solves.
2. **Free advice** IBB, IHK Berlin, Handwerkskammer or Digitalagentur Berlin.
3. **Pick the instrument** Grant, loan, depreciation, or a mix.
4. **Apply** Sign nothing before this. For BAFA a signed contract counts as starting.
5. **Keep every receipt** Invoices and proof of payment for the final report.

Our list of [free business advice in Berlin](https://spreesolutions.de/en/funding/free-business-advice-berlin/) has contacts for each of them. If your project needs custom software rather than an off-the-shelf tool, a second technical opinion from a studio that does [bespoke software development](https://onlinebuilders.biz/solutions/software-development) can sharpen the scope before it goes into an application.

## When is it worth the paperwork?

Below 5,000 euros, rarely. A 3,000-euro loan for two laptops creates more paperwork than it saves in interest. One-year depreciation is enough.

Between 5,000 and 50,000 euros, a BAFA-subsidised consultant is worth it, mostly because the written concept helps in the loan conversation later. A two-page plan with costs and a timeline is a much better starting point for that conversation than a vague request for money to digitalise.

Above 50,000 euros, look at KfW level 2 with its grant component, or at Berlin Kredit Transformation if the project also meets one of IBB's sustainability criteria. That loan comes with a repayment discount of 2 percent of the approved amount if you meet one criterion, and 5 or 7 percent under further conditions such as a published sustainability report.

Next step: sign up for IBB's free online "Förder- und Finanzierungsworkshop" and bring your two sentences. You will find more on tills and invoicing in our [operations section](https://spreesolutions.de/en/operations/), and the full list of funding topics sits under [funding](https://spreesolutions.de/en/funding/).

## FAQ

### Can a foreign founder apply for Berlin funding?

Yes, if the company is registered in Berlin and runs its business there. Nationality does not matter for IBB or BAFA programmes. Your residence permit has to allow self-employment, which is a separate question for the immigration office.

### Are application forms available in English?

Mostly not. IBB and BAFA portals and guidelines are in German, and many IBB programme pages have no English version at all. You can ask the free advisory services whether they can take your questions in English, but plan on filing the application in German.

### Is there a grant for building a website?

Not as a standalone grant in Berlin right now. You can get half of a consultant's fee covered through BAFA, or finance a website as part of a larger digital project with a KfW loan.

### Can I start the project and apply afterwards?

No. For BAFA consulting, signing the consulting contract already counts as starting. For the Transfer BONUS you may only start after approval, and accepting the offer already counts as starting.

Photo: Srittau, CC BY 3.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Investitionsbank_Berlin_20140513_9.jpg)