Domestic promotion in 2022

We promote Germany

We finance investments in the future for people in Germany on behalf of the Federal Government; we finance start-ups and SMEs so that the German economy will remain strong. To this end we finance projects that advance our environment, our municipal and social infrastructure, structural change and the common good.

High promotional business volume in the exceptional year 2022: EUR 136.1 billion

The domestic promotional business recorded a very strong business year with a promotional volume of EUR 136.1 billion (2021: EUR 82.9 billion). KfW once again provided the German Federal Government with notable support. KfW is thus making a significant contribution regarding the transition of the economy towards renewables and energy independence, as well as to economic stabilisation in Germany in 2022 as well.

In the priority area of climate change and the environment, the promotional business volume across all customer groups amounted to EUR 47.2 billion. The high demand for Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings at EUR 37.4 billion is particularly noteworthy.
Demand for the coronavirus aid programmes initiated by the German Federal Government, which were still committed until the middle of the year, continued to decline in 2022 (EUR 3.8 billion). The product adjustments implemented as part of the coronavirus measures in the KfW Student Loan expired at the end of September.
The package of measures to assist start-ups and small enterprise to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was successfully completed in mid-2022. In consultation with the German Federal Government and the promotional institutions of the federal states, KfW financed over 1,800 equity investments and subordinated loans to start-ups and small SMEs over the almost two-year term with a KfW/German Federal Government share of around EUR 600 million.
To support German companies affected by the Ukraine war, KfW launched the UBR special programme at the beginning of May 2022. However, demand for it has only been very modest with a volume of EUR 148.3 million.
KfW also committed loans in connection with the war against Ukraine with a total volume of close to EUR 54.2 billion on behalf of the German Federal Government to secure the energy supply in Germany. These funds were mainly needed for gas replacement purchases and short-term liquidity requirements for securities required in energy trading. The loans were also used to finance the procurement of gas to achieve certain levels for the gas storage facilities.
KfW also implemented the first part of the German Federal Government’s gas price brake. For example, EUR 4.1 billion was disbursed to gas and heat suppliers as part of the emergency aid for gas and heat by the end of the year. These payments were used to compensate for the customer instalment payments assumed by the Federal Government in December.
KfW also continued its successful and strategically significant cooperation with the promotional institutions of the federal states (Landesförderinstituten – LFI) in 2022. In the programme-based global loan business, the cooperation volume increased significantly to EUR 5.2 billion in 2022. Commitments in the general funding of promotional institutions of the federal states also significantly exceeded the previous year’s figure with a total volume of just under EUR 2.8 billion.
In consultation with the German Federal Government, KfW provided financing totalling EUR 134 million for fast-growing, technology-oriented start-ups as part of Venture Tech Growth Financing (VTGF). In this way, KfW sustainably supports the entire venture ecosystem, its founders and the creation of forward-looking jobs, while still mobilising significant amounts of private capital. The volume as a component of the Future Fund (VTGF 2.0) was substantially expanded to EUR 1.2 billion by 2030.

	2022 EUR million	2021 EUR million	2020 EUR million
Corporate investment	66,204	12,596	46,337
Start-ups	1,178	6,317	4,359
Innovation	4,539	2,191	2,314
Energy efficiency and renewable energy	46,159	48,109	35,356
Environment & Sustainability	1,034	533	181
Education	1,874	2,043	2,480
Residential & Housing	4,079	6,058	8,795
Public infrastructure	11,001	5,101	6,535
Total	136,068	82,947	106,358

Detailed information on commitments by priority area for each federal state and further details can be found in the current promotional report (available in German only).

	2022 EUR million	2021 EUR million	2020 EUR million
Baden-Wuerttemberg	12,912	13,716	16,677
Bavaria	12,640	14,254	18,642
Berlin	17,739	3,888	3,445
Brandenburg	8,823	2,141	2,219
Bremen	624	884	1,018
Hamburg	2,184	2,142	3,367
Hesse	5,753	5,757	8,206
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	1,367	1,240	1,312
Lower Saxony	8,535	8,056	12,146
North Rhine-Westphalia	47,681	13,468	19,862
Rhineland-Palatinate	3,418	3,531	5,064
Saarland	689	818	922
Saxony	2,809	2,463	2,908
Saxony-Anhalt	1,846	1,584	1,480
Schleswig-Holstein	3,488	3,379	3,689
Thuringia	1,480	1,515	1,617
Total	136,068	82,947	106,358

Detailed information on commitments by priority area for each federal state and further details can be found in the current promotional report (available in German only).

Our promotional offering for private individuals, SMEs und public institutions

A positive impetus

We are active wherever promotion serves to sustainably improve living conditions. To this end, we provide targeted impetus in the market and support private individuals, companies and municipalities that are leading the way with their projects – for example in the implementation of the transport and energy transitions.

Illustration for e-mobility: cars at a charging station — Accelerating climate-friendly mobility

To ensure that e-mobility continues to take on speed, 100,000 charging stations were supported for companies and municipalities.

Illustration for energy transition: a man is standing next to a wind engines, in the background a windfarm — Expanding independence

It was a record year in the Renewable Energies – Standard programme with EUR 6.9 billion: over 6,000 photovoltaic systems and 395 wind turbines make an important contribution to the expansion of the energy transition.

Illustration for Baukindergeld: a couple with a child is standing in front of a new building — Enabling home ownership

In 2022, almost 35,000 families applied for a grant for Baukindergeld funds. Since the start of the promotion, EUR 9.1 billion has been committed.

Boosting progress

Innovation creates new perspectives. We therefore promote ideas, projects and services for an innovative society. In addition to expanding the digital infrastructure, we also provide targeted support to companies for digital transformation – and make a significant contribution to financing young, innovative start-ups by leveraging private capital.

Illustration of industry 4.0: an industrial building, lorries and a network with 5 symbols — Shaping growth

At EUR 1.9 billion, the ERP Digitalisation and Innovation Loan reached the highest commitment volume since 2019 and made a significant contribution to the digital transformation and innovative capacity of SMEs.

Ilustration for SME: buildings and factories are placed on a map of Germany — Enabling innovation

In 2022, general corporate and start-up financing was restructured with the KfW and ERP promotional loans. The ERP promotional loan for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) in particular experienced solid demand with EUR 5.4 billion.

Illustration for VTGF: two people are standing in an office, removal boxes in the background — Mobilising capital

EUR 134 million was provided to young and innovative companies as part of Venture Tech Growth Financing (VTGF), thus mobilising EUR 458 million together with financing partners. More than 6,650 future-oriented jobs have thus been secured or created.

Illustration for start-up platform: two people are looking on a screen together — Successful start-up

A total of 15,000 start-ups with approximately 36,000 jobs were supported via the start-up platform in 2022. The offer was expanded to provide support for new target groups: “green start-ups” and “female entrepreneurship”. Since its launch, the platform has attracted almost 3 million visitors and almost 90,000 registered users.

Costumer centricity

The customer is at the heart of numerous measures that were implemented in 2022. Customer interfaces in social media and online have been optimised, and communication with young target groups has been expanded. Cooperation with the financing partners has been further simplified at a technical level in order to be able to quickly place promotion in a targeted manner.

Ilustration for social media: two people are looking on a mobile screen — Reaching young target groups

KfW’s domestic promotional business is increasingly using Instagram’s potential to address young target groups such as students and start-ups with regard to the opportunities for promotion.

Illustration fpr partner portal: two people are standing in front of a outsized screen — Simplifying communication

Financing partners, energy efficiency consultants and other multipliers of KfW promotional products benefit from extensive personalisation of the partner portal.

Illustration for user experience: a woman is overpainting a labyrinth — Facilitating access to information

With the new interactive design, expanded accessible implementation and the new feedback manager, the focus was on optimising the user experience on the web.

Legal notice:
The information contained in this online Annual Report 2022 is based on KfW’s Financial Report 2022, which you can download here. Should this online Annual Report 2022, despite the great care taken in preparation of its content, contain any contradictions or errors compared to the Financial Report, the KfW Financial Report 2022 takes priority.

Tip: Activate javascript to be able to use all functions of our website

Domestic promotion in 2022

We promote Germany