#UpdateHamburg 2025 - 1 million euros for innovative projects
The Ministry of Economics and Innovation in Hamburg is once again making one million euros available for socially innovative projects with the #UpdateHamburg 2025 funding call. Initial project outlines can be submitted to the Hamburg Investment and Development Bank (IFB Hamburg) until March 28, 2025.
The funding focuses on the development of innovative solutions for social challenges of particular relevance to Hamburg. It thus follows the regional innovation strategy of the Hamburg Senate, which focuses on the vision “With innovations together for a city worth living in”. The projects aim to develop innovative solutions for the four umbrella topics of social participation, health, climate and environment and education. The #UpdateHamburg format was established in 2024 as an integral part of the social entrepreneurship strategy to promote innovation and is now being implemented for the fourth time this year.
Conditions of participation and benefits
Social enterprises and other socially innovative organizations that are at least two years old, as well as universities, are eligible to apply. In principle, the call for funding is aimed at organizations with a registered office or place of business in Hamburg. Organizations that do not have this can only apply for funding if the project is implemented as a cooperation project with an organization whose registered office or place of business is in Hamburg. The planned project duration is around twelve months. After a positive review of the project outline, applications can then be submitted until June 30, 2025, following an invitation from IFB Hamburg.
The funding amount is up to 100,000 euros per project for one funding recipient. In the case of cooperation projects involving a consortium of at least two and a maximum of four funding recipients, the funding amount is up to 200,000 euros per project. The funding rate is a maximum of 100 % of the eligible costs for non-profit funding recipients who have no economic interest in fulfilling the funding purpose (including universities in the non-economic sector) and 80 % for non-charitable funding recipients.
