Brandenburg companies are innovative in the crisis

Many Brandenburg companies are using the Corona crisis to improve their products and services.

This article is part of the special feature GründerNavi – for founders and young companies

Demand for innovation funding from the state of Brandenburg was significantly higher in the first three quarters of 2020 than in 2019. The Brandenburg Economic Development Corporation (WFBB) recorded 215 new consulting applications from January to September, compared to 170 in the same period in 2019. The Brandenburg Development Bank (ILB) has so far issued 182 grant approvals with a total funding volume of €37,6 million – compared to 198 approvals with a total of €41,7 million in the same period in 2019.

Growth through innovation

"This is a strong signal of confidence . It proves that Brandenburg companies are taking decisive action in the crisis, focusing on innovation, and setting the course for future growth . And it shows that with our innovation promotion programs, we are clearly offering the right instruments for technology-oriented SMEs. Companies can rely on us to maintain this targeted support sustainably ," explained Jörg Steinbach, Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Energy.

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Tillmann Stenger , CEO of ILB, added: "Despite the coronavirus pandemic, we have received a similar number of funding applications for innovative projects in 2020 as in the same period last year . We have already committed €37,6 million to 182 projects. These include a wide variety of projects, from both traditional industries and young digital companies. We are very pleased that many Brandenburg companies are working on improving their technologies and processes despite these challenging times, and we are happy to support businesses in all the necessary steps."

"In 2019, we already had a successful year for innovation, supporting a total of 316 projects. As things stand today, it appears that we will at least reach this high level again this year, despite the coronavirus crisis . Our new online platform for initiating technology collaborations, www.cluster-helfen-unternehmen.de , is also contributing to this . We are very pleased about this. Currently, we are experiencing rapid growth, particularly in the demand for support related to digitalization . In the first nine months of 2020, we processed 134 applications for the Brandenburg Innovation Voucher (BIG) "Digital" – a massive increase of around 50 percent compared to the previous year," said WFBB Managing Director Sebastian Saule.