Find startup funding you qualify for
Buildward checks your project against 111 grants, stipends and programs in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and across the EU, including 24 most founders never hear about. It shows which one to apply to first and walks you through the application.
Four short blocks of questions, no sign-up.
24 programs most founders never hear about
Small juries, few applicants, rules that sound stricter than they are. Buildward flags them when they fit you.
Leipzig SME Program - Founder Grant & Innovative Founder Premium
Leipzig
Why founders miss it: Founders rarely hear that the city itself pays cash for first steps (first hire, first lease, branding) plus a separate EUR 4,000 premium for innovative founders; small jury, few applicants.
NLnet Restack Fund
EU
Why founders miss it: Short plain-text English form, individuals welcome, no company needed, and funding can cover your own dev time. Most solo devs don't know NLnet funds people, not just orgs.
Berlin Coaching BONUS
Berlin
Why founders miss it: Two free days plus 80% of up to 18 more coaching days is worth up to ~€16k for a young tech firm, and very few solo founders use it.
NLnet CodeSupply Fund
EU
Why founders miss it: Brand-new pilot with a tiny niche: few applicants in round one, and devtools/SBOM work is a natural fit for solo builders.
German R&D tax credit
Germany
Why founders miss it: Solo founders assume it's for corporates. Since 2026 your own unpaid R&D hours count at €100/h, so a bootstrapped solo dev can get cash back for work already done (retroactive 4 years). It's also the official fallback while ZIM is paused.
BAFA consulting subsidy
Germany
Why founders miss it: Low effort, works for Einzelunternehmer, and stacks with other programs. Use it for e.g. a pricing/go-to-market consultant before the guideline lapses.
Leipzig trade fair grant
Leipzig
Why founders miss it: Conference talks and delegation trips count, not only fair booths. A solo founder speaking at a European conference can get half the travel back.
Saxony Business Angel Bonus
Saxony
Why founders miss it: Leipzig city is a JTF region, so a €50k angel cheque can unlock €50k+ of non-dilutive money. It's a strong pitch line to angels that almost nobody outside Lusatia uses.
Saxony market-launch loan
Saxony
Why founders miss it: A 1.5%, collateral-free, subordinated loan for launching a software product works almost like quasi-equity. Bank loans for solo founders never look like this.
Saxony digitalisation loan
Saxony
Why founders miss it: Pairs with the SAB digitalisation grant already in the registry for the remaining share, at very low interest and with no collateral.
Saxony InnoPrämie
Saxony
Why founders miss it: Lets a solo founder buy research help (e.g. a university lab, UX research, security pentest by an institute) at half price, with a low-effort application.
Saxony R&D project grant
Saxony
Why founders miss it: This is the Saxon ZIM alternative while federal ZIM is paused, and it pays 40–50% of your R&D salary costs in Leipzig.
KMU-innovativ ICT
Germany
Why founders miss it: A federal ICT research grant that small firms can lead alone. Next deadline 15 Apr 2027, then 15 Oct 2027.
DBU Green Start-up
Germany
Why founders miss it: An EXIST-sized living stipend with no university requirement and rolling intake. Software with measurable environmental impact qualifies, and most digital founders never check DBU.
Berlin microloan
Berlin
Why founders miss it: Freelancers and pre-revenue founders can apply directly without a Hausbank, which is the main hurdle with KfW StartGeld.
Sovereign Tech Fund
EU
Why founders miss it: If you maintain a widely used OSS library, this pays real money for maintenance work that no VC funds.
GitHub Secure Open Source Fund
EU
Why founders miss it: $10k for a short form plus 3 weeks of security training, paid to individuals. Few European founders apply.
Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs
EU
Why founders miss it: A paid stint embedded with a founder in e.g. Amsterdam or Barcelona to test a new market.
Saxony circular economy grant
Saxony
Why founders miss it: Built for recyclers and municipalities, so startups rarely look at it, yet small firms get 80% of up to EUR 60,000 for awareness and knowledge-exchange projects on waste prevention.
AIDEAS: circular business ideas with AI
Germany
Why founders miss it: A brand-new federal call that pays individuals, not only companies, and closes four weeks after launch.
RE\WARD idea competition for circular solutions
Leipzig
Why founders miss it: Announced only as a city news item, not on the funding pages, and it closes within weeks.
Reduced Social Security fee for new self-employed (tarifa plana)
Spain
Why founders miss it: Foreign founders moving to Spain often register as autónomo without ticking the reduced fee and then pay the full income-based contribution.
Unemployment benefit paid out as a lump sum (pago único)
Spain
Why founders miss it: Spain's equivalent of a start-up grant: your own unemployment benefit, paid out up front to fund the business.
Certified startup status under Spain's Startup Law
Spain
Why founders miss it: Free to apply and makes the company more attractive to Spanish angels, who can then deduct half of their investment from income tax.
What you get after the questions
Where to start
The one program that fits you best: why it fits, what could block you, when the deadline is.
See your chances move
Each extra question shows how many programs an answer opens or closes, before you pick it.
An honest “not for you”
Every program that doesn’t fit says exactly why, so you don’t spend weeks on an application that gets rejected.
Your next step
The real application form, field by field. Fields your profile already covers are filled in, and the deadline goes to your calendar in one click.
111 programs
Grants, stipends, accelerators, vouchers and low-interest loans
24 often missed
Programs founders rarely hear about, marked on their cards
Checked in October 2026
Every program against its official site, with the source on the card
How it works
Tell us about your project
City, stage, what the money is for, who is on the team. Most answers are one tap.
Buildward checks the rules
Region, stage, registration, solo or team, for every program.
Apply step by step
Form fields with hints, drafts from your profile, and the status of every application in one place.
Built for my own funding first
I built Buildward to raise funding for my own projects, Moved and Garage Sale, which I build alone in Leipzig.
As a solo founder you don’t have time to scout dozens of programs, read every PDF of requirements and fill in clumsy forms. So Buildward does the scouting and the reading for me, and starts each form with what I have already written. I use it for my own applications, and now you can too.
Max, founder of Buildward
Questions
- Who is it for?
- People building alone or in a small team, from idea to first customers, with or without a registered business.
- What does it cost?
- Matching, explanations and the application tracker need no payment.
- Do you apply for me?
- No. You submit, and the program decides. Buildward helps you pick the right programs and not miss a step.
- Where are my answers stored?
- Until you sign in, only in your browser. After that, in your account, which you can delete at any time.
See what you’re missing
Orientation, not a funding decision. Always confirm current conditions on the official page before applying.