PRE-SEED FUNDING EARLY-STAGE FINANCING FOR GREEN-TECH STARTUPS

In order to support promising startups on their way to financial maturity, the state of Baden-Württemberg provides funding for the Start-up BW Pre-Seed Program. In this phase, institutional investors are often still reluctant to invest due to the increased risk and the uncertain prospects of the startup project’s success.

>SMART> GREEN is a Start-up BW Pre-Seed support partner accredited by the state of Baden-Württemberg and is therefore the point of contact for interested startups. Our aim is to help innovative green tech startups obtain early-stage financing from the state, to jointly develop a clear financing strategy for the coming years and to lay the foundations for follow-up financing at an early stage.

The application amount is usually between €50.000 and €200.000. At least 20% risk participation must be provided by a co-investor. The remaining 80% is funding from the state of Baden-Württemberg, paid out by the L-Bank. For €200.000, this would be €40.000 co-investment and €160.000 from L-Bank. The co-investor can also increase the share to the same amount from L-Bank, allowing the startup to apply for €320.000.

Apply Now! Pre-Seed Funding FAQ Information from the ministery

Pre-Seed Process

Contact and application The startup makes contact and fills out the form on our website.

Review and initial meeting We check whether the criteria for pre-seed are met and whether the business model, degree of innovation, framework conditions and timing are suitable for pre-seed and whether it is the right financing instrument.

Follow-up advice In preparation for the jury pitch, we support the start-ups with individual consulting sessions. Up to 3 consulting appointments are available per startup.

Registration for the jury session The startup must be registered for the jury session at least 10 days before the jury session. No registration without the following final documents: - Pitch deck - Financial plan - LOI co-investor(s) - List of shareholders - Data protection release

Panel meetings / jury pitches There are five pitch dates throughout the year. These are listed below.

Application & funding After approval by L-Bank and the WiMi, the startup has six weeks to complete all application documents. We provide support with this step of the process.

Committee meetings / jury pitches

There are five dates in 2025. Register early with a clear indication of the date on which you would like to pitch. We will proceed according to the first come, first serve principle, provided that all relevant content and documents are available. Otherwise, we will not propose a team for the jury session.

18./19.02.2025 Deadline documents 06.02.2025

05./06.05.2025 Deadline documents 24.04.2025

03./04.07.2025 Deadline documents 23.06.2025

18./19.09.2025 Deadline documents 08.09.2025

10./11.11.2025 Deadline documents 30.10.2025

Relevant pre-seed documents

The following documents are required for admission to the committee meeting / jury pitch:

Pitch deck
Financial plan
LOI co-investor(s)
Data protection release
List of shareholders

When we start the process together, you will receive an overview of the other documents required for the application.
Just as an outlook: You can find the current application forms and templates on the L-Bank website.