Credits

aws Seedfinancing – Innovative Solutions

Austria Wirtschaftsservice

Seed financing up to €400,000 for innovative, socially or ecologically beneficial Austrian startups.

Potential value:
EUR 400k in credits
Provider:
Austria Wirtschaftsservice
Referral needed:
No

Why this could be a strong fit

Useful for teams standardizing on Austria Wirtschaftsservice who want to offset general costs during the early build-out phase.

What you need to qualify

  • Already established independent partnerships or corporations, micro and small enterprises only
  • Companies up to 5 years after the date of incorporation at the time the grant is awarded; the German-language page states the limit as 54 months
  • Proven high degree of innovation with realistic market opportunities in scalable business models
  • Content and economic feasibility already verified, with first prototypes and applications developed
  • A diverse and committed team that is start-up oriented and willing to take risks
  • Social and/or ecological added value in one of: diversity and equality, environment and climate, health and care, education, mobility, or urban development
  • Shareholders contribute at least 10 percent of total costs from their own financial resources, or 5 percent where the gender bonus applies

Eligibility

Eligible stages
Pre-seed, Seed
Countries
Austria

How to apply

  1. 1

    Prepare the mandatory documents

    A business plan of 25 pages plus or minus 5, a structured pitch deck, integral planning of work packages and costs, proof of identification, and CVs of the project team.

  2. 2

    Submit through the aws Foerdermanager

    Applications are made online through the aws Foerdermanager. Submission is continuous, so there is no closing date to hit.

  3. 3

    Formal and content check

    aws first analyses the application against formal criteria, then evaluates complete applications that meet the criteria on content and on economic viability.

  4. 4

    Jury decision

    The final decision is taken at jury meetings, which are held several times a year, typically quarterly.

Frequently asked

The grant covers 80 percent of eligible costs up to a maximum of EUR 356,000. With the gender bonus it rises to 90 percent of eligible costs, up to a maximum of EUR 400,000.

If the project involves one or more women who collectively own more than 25 percent of shares at the time of funding approval, the grant awarded can increase to up to 90 percent of the eligible costs or a maximum of EUR 400,000.

Already established independent partnerships or corporations that are micro or small enterprises, up to 5 years after incorporation at the time the grant is awarded, with a proven high degree of innovation, a verified proof of concept or prototype, and a scalable business model carrying social or ecological added value.

Shareholders contribute at least 10 percent of total costs as equity and a further 10 percent can be raised from other defined monetary sources. With the gender bonus those figures are 5 percent each.

No. aws states the submission date is ongoing (Einreichtermin: laufend) and holds several decision dates per year, with jury meetings typically quarterly.

A business plan of 25 pages plus or minus 5, a structured pitch deck, integral planning of the work packages and costs, proof of identification, and CVs of the project team.

Further development of the existing proof of concept or prototype through to market readiness.
General

Related programs

We have not been able to confirm a deadline for this one. Check the official page before you start.

Do I qualify?

2 things decide this one. Check yourself against them before you spend time on the form.

Stage
Pre-seed, Seed
Where you are incorporated
Austria
Funding raised so far
No limit stated
Referral
Not needed. You can apply directly

That is the rulebook. What we cannot show you here is whether your startup clears it, how this ranks against the other programs you qualify for, and what to fix if you do not.

Check what I qualify for

Five questions, about a minute, no account needed.

Last verified against the official page. Report an error

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