German gov’t announces to support start-ups with 2 bln euros

 The German government would support start-ups with 2 billion euros (2.2 billion U.S dollars) during the coronavirus crisis, the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy announced on Wednesday.

Venture capital by the government would be expanded so that “financing rounds for promising and innovative start-ups from Germany can continue to take place,” said Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier.

In the short term, additional funds would be given to public venture capital investors. The funds could also be used in co-investments with private investors for financing rounds of start-ups, according to the Ministry.

In addition, Germany‘s umbrella fund investor KfW Capital and the European Investment Fund (EIF) would be enabled to take over shares from defaulting fund investors, according to the Ministry.

The measures were seeking to help young German start-ups and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) without investors among their shareholders to find venture capital and equity replacing forms of financing, the Ministry noted.