NRW Economics Ministry and NRW.BANK boost investment / NRW.BANK Invest Zukunft: New programme to drive the transformation

Good news for companies in NRW: The new NRW.BANK.Invest Zukunft loan programme is set to launch in May 2025. Through this programme, companies investing in sustainability, digitalisation, and innovation will receive additional support from NRW.BANK, with interest rates up to two percent below the market rate and redemption discounts of up to 20 percent. The promotion process will be much simpler, as the new programme consolidates up to four existing promotional offerings, enabling companies to quickly and conveniently reap the benefits. In this way, the NRW Economics Ministry and NRW.BANK aim to make investments that enhance companies’ competitiveness and accelerate transformation more appealing.

Economics and Climate Action Minister Mona Neubaur: “The German and North Rhine-Westphalian economies are facing major structural challenges. The new NRW.BANK.Invest Zukunft programme is the first heavily subsidised promotional loan outside of the crisis programmes that offers a substantial redemption discount of up to 20 percent. Alongside the recently launched “Green Transformation” special guarantee programme, it will stimulate investments in NRW and thereby support the future viability of our federal state as a place for business. With the turnaround in the expansion of renewable energy and the acceleration package for planning and approval processes, this is a real boost for NRW.”

NRW.BANK also sees the programme as an important incentive for doing business in North Rhine-Westphalia. Johanna Antonie Tjaden-Schulte, NRW.BANK Managing Board member responsible for transformation and innovation: “To shape the economic future in NRW, we need companies that invest in the sustainable and digital transformation, as well as in innovation. We are actively promoting such investment with our NRW.BANK.Invest Zukunft programme, which offers better conditions than ever before. In this way, we ensure that change and profitability go hand in hand, and that as many North Rhine-Westphalia companies as possible benefit from this. We are convinced that we are thus providing an important incentive to accelerate progress in the federal state.”

What will be promoted?

Under the NRW.BANK.Invest Zukunft programme, companies receive financial support for a very wide range of investments, e.g. in:

·the digitalisation of business processes,

·electromobility and environmentally-friendly technologies,

·the circular economy and sustainable production processes,

·the transition to renewable energy or

·the use of AI.

Under the new programme, NRW.BANK also supports the introduction and development of innovative business models, products and processes. A simple proof of use is sufficient to benefit from the funding, which means that bureaucracy is kept to a minimum.

Who can benefit?

All companies in NRW can take advantage of the interest-subsidised loans, regardless of their size. Small and medium-sized companies additionally receive a redemption discount of 5, 10 or 20 percent, depending on the amount invested and their size. The maximum loan amount is ten million euros. For a small company investing ten million euros, the maximum saving is two million euros.

Example: With a loan amount of 500,000 euros and a term of 10 years, a small company can save up to 170,000 euros. The general rule is: the smaller a company and the greater its investment in transformation, the higher the savings on financing costs.

How to apply for the programme?

Applications for all loans under the programme can be filed through the respective house bank from May 19, 2025.
For more information on the new promotional programme, visit:www.nrwbank.de/investzukunft

Media Contact
Caroline Fischer, Press Officer of NRW.BANK
Phone: +49 211 91741-1847, e-mail: presse@nrwbank.de

Moritz Mais, Vice Press Officer, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Phone: +49 211 61772-143, e-mail: presse@mwike.nrw.de

NRW.BANK – the promotional bank for North Rhine-Westphalia
NRW.BANK is the promotional bank of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). In close partnership with its owner, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Bank helps to strengthen SMEs and start-ups, create affordable housing and improve public infrastructure. NRW.BANK offers people, enterprises and local authorities in NRW tailor-made financing solutions and advisory services. It cooperates with its financing partners, in particular all banks and savings banks, on a competition-neutral basis. In order to accelerate the transformation processes, the Bank provides effective promotional impulses – for a sustainable, climate-neutral and digital North Rhine-Westphalia.