What is being funded?
Setting up a company, modernization,growth, innovation

Type of loan
Soft loan:

• Variable grace period
• Variable loan period from 6-12 years including the grace period of 0,5-5 years
• Fixed or semi-fixed interest rate
• Loan conditions
• Cash equivalent

Loan amount

• EUR 10.000 to EUR 37,5 Mio.
• Percentage: up to 100 % of the project volume

Eligible costs

• Capitalisable investments
• Non capitalisable investments

Implementation period
Up to 2 years

Eligible projects
(examples):

• Start-ups and business establishment
• Company takeovers and succession
• Investments in product and process innovations
• Modernization and expansion of operating facilities
• Establishment of new or expansion of existing services or business areas
• Establishment and expansion of business incubators, technology and innovation centers, research parks, incubator centers, and other technology transfer facilities
• Projects for the establishment, expansion, and modernization of the infrastructure required for apprentice training

Disbursement
Anytime after the implementation of the project has been started within a pre-defined drawing period of one year

Please consider

• The pre-defined drawing period can be prolonged provided that the grace period is reduced to the same extent.
• Once the project has been implemented, you must provide evidence to the trustee bank that the loan has been used according to the contract.

Repayment
After the grace period according to pre-agreed conditions

Cost

• Disbursement fee at disbursement of the loan: non-recurring fee of 0.9 % (for Entrepreneurs 0.5 %) of the received amount
• Cancellation fee for loans exceeding EUR 1 million in case the loan amount is repaid before maturity: 2 % of the amount paid prior to maturity
• Provision fee for loans exceeding EUR 1 million in case the loan is disbursed after the disbursement period has expired: 0.75 % of the amount that has not yet been disbursed

Additional funding
Within the scope of the General Block Exemption Regulation and the «de-minimis» limit aws erp-loans can be combined with:

• aws guarantee
• aws Digitalization
• aws Growth investment
• aws Processing of agricultural products
• public funding of the Austrian Federal States

• In case the implementation of the project has been started before the submission of the application
• Security for the loan cannot be provided by the bank and/or by aws guarantee
• For insurance, financing and real investment companies
• Financial investments
• Non-profit organisations
• Investments not necessary for the operation of the business

Moment of application
Anytime

Process of application and approval

1. You submit the application together with an ERP trustee bank via the aws Fördermanager.
2. You receive a confirmation of receipt.
3. If required, we may ask you to provide further documents and information on your project.
4. First, we check the most important criteria regarding form and content.
5. If necessary, we may ask you to clarify certain project details.
6. We analyse the application in detail and make a decision on whether we can finance your project or not.
7. Please consider: loan decisions for amounts exceeding
   EUR 2 million are taken at the regular meetings of the ERP credit commission.
8. We inform you as soon as possible if your application has been approved or not.
9. You finalize the loan contract with your ERP trusteee bank.
10. Settlement by providing evidence of the project implementation to your ERP trustee bank.

We will let you know our desicion in any case.

Submission period

• Loans of up to EUR 1 million: 1 – 7 days
• Loans exceeding EUR 1 million up to EUR 2 million: 3 – 5 weeks
• Loans exceeding EUR 2 million: 2 – 3 months

Credit decisions over EUR 2 million are made by the ERP Credit Commission on fixed dates. All necessary documents must be received by aws in full and on time to ensure that the loan can be processed on the desired date.

It should be noted that an appropriate lead time is required for internal review and preparation. Due to short notice or incomplete documentation, the case will have to be scheduled for a subsequent meeting.

Overview of the next meeting dates:

• Tuseday, February 24th, 2026
• Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026
• Tuesday, June, 16th, 2026

The aws erp loan offers your company the opportunity to finance important investments at a lower cost.

Specifically, the funding solves the following challenges:

• High capital requirements for innovations:
  You want to develop a new product or bring it to series production – the aws erp loan covers your investment costs.
• Financing challenges when starting a business:
  You are starting a business and need money for construction, machinery, or personnel – the aws erp loan offers favorable terms and flexible repayment models.
• Growth financing:
  You want to expand, open new locations, or digitize – the aws erp loan provides you with the appropriate financing scope for these investments. 

Planning security through possible fixed interest rates in certain term models:
You receive stable, predictable financing costs – regardless of market fluctuations.

Combinability with other subsidies:
You can combine the aws erp loan with grants (e.g., EFRE) or guarantees (aws guarantee) – this increases your financing power.

• Founders
  You are starting a new business and need capital for construction, machinery, equipment, or your first employees.
• Innovative SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)
  You are developing new products or technologies and need financing.
• Growing family businesses
  You are highly specialized in your industry and want to expand, open new locations, or digitize.
• Industrial and manufacturing companies
  You invest in modern machinery, production facilities, or infrastructure projects.
• Tourism and service companies
  You modernize your business, expand, or create new offerings.