Start-ups

Frankfurt Start-up Fund

Sustainable Development Goals – Decent Work And Economic Growth

Sustainable Development Goals – Industry, Innovation And Infrastructure

Sustainable Development Goals – Sustainable Cities And Communities

Under our “town-and-gown approach”, the Start-up Fund supports the local start-up ecosystem in the metropolitan area of Frankfurt am Main, where our headquarter is based. The fund was brought to life in cooperation with the Economic Development Agency (Wirtschaftsförderung) of Frankfurt.

FS Impact Finance manages the fund and acts as a close partner to the start-ups, evaluating their eligibility and creditworthiness, supporting them with business plan development, guarantee recommendations, and loan applications. In addition, we monitor the performance and development of financed companies during the loan term.

FS Impact Finance Team At A Table With Books And Coffee In Front Of Them

Problem

Start-ups as drivers of innovation, new technology, and sustainable solutions play an important role in today’s business landscape. There are many different factors determining the success of start-ups, with access to capital being a critical one. According to the “German Start-up Monitor 2023”, almost 70 % of start-ups interviewed were planning to request external financing within the next 12 months, and 50 % have received financing from external sources already.

Solution

This is where the Frankfurt Start-up Fund comes in. By providing credit guarantees through the Guarantee Bank of Hesse (Bürgschaftsbank Hessen) and bringing start-ups in touch with cooperating local banks, the fund helps young companies access capital.

Partners

Impact

To date, the Frankfurt Start-up Fund has issued more than EUR 3.5 million worth of guarantees, supported more than 140 start-ups with loans of up to 50,000 EUR. Thus, the fund contributes substantially to SDGs 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

start-ups supported from various industries

% of guarantees granted to female founders

jobs created in Frankfurt

Impact Stories & Blogs

Guarantee-backed founders’ loan for AYUUKU

Driven by the desire for a holistic lifestyle, in November 2022 the three entrepreneurs Judith Birghoffer, Cécile Birghoffer and Vanessa Görner founded AYUUKU (Indonesian for “my beauty“).

Andreas Kueppers and Justin Adam of relofair GmbH

The Frankfurt Startup Fund: Wrapping up 2023

The mood barometer in the startup scene is back up: Enthusiasm and confidence have returned among founders and entrepreneurs, as indicated by the development of the Frankfurt Startup Fund this year.

10 Years of Frankfurt Start-up Fund

The Frankfurt Start-up Fund (Frankfurter Gründerfonds) had a milestone birthday and we published a brochure especially for it. For 10 years now, the fund has been supporting founders in financing their business ideas.