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From scattered individual applications to a planned funding mix

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Many organisations apply for the programme they know and overlook instruments that fit better or work alongside it. That is rarely down to carelessness, but to the fact that nobody has an overview of the whole landscape. Potential rarely goes unused because no suitable programme exists. More often the full overview is missing: which instruments fit the project, which exclude each other and in what order they are applied for.

3D Spark
2R
Folienwelt
qlero
mm lab
Deutsche Firmenkredit Partner
ENTIAC
selecta one
DC Smarter
ZWF
Unternehmensgruppe Albert Weil
fierythings

What a funding mix is not

A funding mix does not mean stacking several programmes onto the same project. It usually arises across the whole roadmap: different projects, different phases, different instruments.

The risk arises mainly after the award: through unmet conditions, project changes, ineligible costs, missing evidence or missed deadlines. In a combined mix, the documentation therefore has to be cleanly separated from the outset.

What determines your funding mix

Which instruments come into question for you depends on three factors. Together they determine which programmes are open to you at all.

01

Size

Size determines access. Many programmes are only open to SMEs, others are size-independent, and some offer higher funding rates for smaller companies.

Young companies and start-ups. Often without significant tax liability and without a long history. Instruments that work independently of profit or creditworthiness are the most relevant here. Please note: tax-based instruments generally require your own staff.

SMEs. The widest choice. Here the question is rarely whether funding exists, but through which instrument and with what delimitation.

Larger companies. Fewer programmes are open, but the volumes are larger. Delimiting the eligible share becomes more important.

02

Project phase

Feasibility, development, demonstration, investment and market launch each follow their own funding logic. A project that is too early for one instrument can be exactly right for another.

03

Sector and location

The sector determines the emphasis. In most sectors development funding carries the largest share, complemented by investment and environmental programmes. The location also decides which regional programmes are open.

A manufacturer developing a new production process

The initial study to determine whether the process is feasible is funded by a feasibility or innovation grant: MIT Feasibility in the Netherlands, kmu-innovativ or a ZIM feasibility study in Germany.

The subsequent R&D is eligible for the R&D tax credit, WBSO in the Netherlands or Forschungszulage in Germany, which reimburses a portion of the development costs monthly or through the tax assessment.

Building the production line is matched to an investment incentive: EIA or MIA/Vamil in the Netherlands, GRW or KfW financing in Germany.

How we work

We do not assess one programme but the whole landscape, and we do it before the project starts. We also look at what has already been carried out and whether anything is still possible there.

Map the project landscape.

Completed, ongoing and planned projects are recorded and ordered by phase.

Assign the instruments.

Each project is assigned the right instrument at regional, national and European level.

Set the sequence.

Deadlines, application windows and dependencies determine what is applied for first.

Delimit the costs.

The same costs may not be funded twice. The delimitation is established in the application, not in the accounting.

Figures you can hold us to

95%

Success rate

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Resources & Insights

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Case Study Heat treatment · ZIM · SME / Mittelstand

Wegener Härtetechnik

Wegener Härtetechnik is a specialist heat treatment service provider and is developing an innovative hardening process for applications in the automotive industry.

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Whitepaper PDF · 10 pages · 2026

Diese 10 Förderprogramme lassen KMU häufig liegen

Zehn Fördermöglichkeiten, die kleine und mittlere Unternehmen häufig übersehen — von der steuerlichen Forschungszulage über ZIM und IGP bis zum EIC Accelerator.

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Case Study IT consulting · Forschungszulage · SME

SaJo Consulting

SaJo Consulting GmbH develops tailor-made software solutions for demanding business requirements. To enable companies to use artificial intelligence securely, the company planned to develop an AI platform of its own.

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Working with Ignite Group took a great deal of pressure off us. Thanks to […] their expertise, we always felt confident that our funding application was in the best hands.

Paula Hessing Senior Executive Assistant, MARKT-PILOT GmbH
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Rather start with your industry?

Every industry has its own programmes, deadlines and priorities. Find funding along your sector rather than your objective.

FAQs about funding advisory

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Many customers come to us alongside their existing advisers. The difference lies in coverage and specialisation: we track thousands of programmes across grants, tax-based instruments and financing, plan them as a coordinated mix rather than individually, and support the entire lifecycle through to the audit. As a rule, that finds and secures more than a generalist advisory service can.

Not for the same costs. Different cost elements of a project can, however, run through different instruments, provided the delimitation is clean. More often, the mix arises across different projects anyway.

That depends on the instrument and is not always a payment. Grants are paid out after approval and drawdown. Tax-based instruments work through tax, reducing the burden rather than paying out money. Loans and guarantees work through terms and availability. We order the instruments by when they actually ease your liquidity.

Usually yes, because even a single project runs through several phases. The greater gain, however, arises as soon as several projects run in parallel.

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