News from 2025-01-02 / KfW Research

KfW SME Innovation Report 2024

Economic activity puts the brakes on innovation activity

The economic situation is leaving its mark on the innovation activities of small and medium-sized enterprises. The key findings of the current KfW Innovation Report are as follows:

  • Fewer SMEs in Germany are innovating. At 39%, the share of innovators is 3 percentage points lower than at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The share of innovators among large SMEs is recovering, while it is still falling among small businesses.
  • Export-oriented businesses as well as R&D-intensive manufacturing enterprises have also scaled back their innovation activities.
  • Innovation expenditure remains steady at just under EUR 34 billion.

KfW SME Innovation Report 2024

Press release

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