Financing for start-ups
Financing for start-ups
From seed to growth.
The canton of Fribourg covers two phases of a start-up's development. Each has its own instruments, and within a phase, these instruments can be combined. Fri Up helps you activate them in the right order.
Phase 1: Pre-seed & seed
Finalise the product, validate or even develop the market, protect, pre-industrialise, set up and accelerate.
Seed loan (< KCHF 100) · Non-repayable grants (< KCHF 300) · Convertible incubation and acceleration loan (< KCHF 100) Up to CHF 500,000
Phase 2: Growth
The market is validated and confirmed: time for roll-out and funding rounds.
Equity investments (< MCHF 1.2) · Non-repayable grants, depending on growth Up to CHF 1,200,000Seed, protect, accelerate
Phase 1 :Pre-seed & seed
Three instruments are available, and they are designed to be potentially combined: a seed loan, a set of non-repayable grants, and a convertible incubation and acceleration loan for high-potential start-ups.
A. The seed loan +Financing technical and commercial proof
Up to CHF 100,000 can be paid in tranches, depending on milestones reachedThis loan comes in when the product is not yet fully finalised or still needs to be pre-industrialised, and the market has yet to be validated. It gives the team the means to overcome precisely these obstacles.
- Finalise the prototype and remove the last technical barriers.
- Pre-industrialisation: moving from the lab to a first batch, or from a prototype to a first series.
- Validate the market: first customer tests, confirmed product specifications, proof of market traction.
It is a repayable loan, with no capital dilution at this stage, but which may commit the founders with a personal guarantee of 50%.
For high-potential start-upsHigh-potential start-ups active in the canton's strategic focus areas can benefit from the same loan, but convertible and without personal guarantee. In return, the start-up or its founders contribute equity, in principle matching the amount granted by the foundation. The business model must also include a fundraising round and significant leverage effects.
Seed Capital Fribourg Foundation → B. Economic Development Agency support + Up to CHF 300,000 combined total of the measures belowNon-repayable grants: they do not have to be repaid. They come as several measures that cover part of your development costs.
Market development & patents
50% of costs · max. CHF 30,000Reimbursement of half the costs incurred to open up new markets or protect your intellectual property, up to a ceiling of CHF 30,000.
Rent support
50% of costs · over 3 yearsHalf of your rent covered for three years, so you can set up and equip yourself without straining your start-up cash flow.
Innosuisse research projects
Up to CHF 100,000For projects submitted to Innosuisse, the canton can add funding that complements Innosuisse funding rather than replacing it, in particular the contribution often required from the start-up.
Job creation bonus
Up to CHF 10,000 per jobA bonus granted for each high value-added job created in the canton, to support building your team.
These measures can be combined, but the final amount is set by the Economic Development Agency according to the start-up's potential.
Overview of support measures (PDF) → C. The convertible incubation and acceleration loan + Granted by Fri UpMoving up a gear
High-potential start-up
CHF 30,000 – 100,000 as a convertible loanAn incubation and acceleration programme goes further than one-off support: the amount is not paid out to fund day-to-day operations, but to remove the two classic obstacles facing an accelerating start-up.
- Infrastructure: equipment, technical platforms, means of production.
- Expert services: specialist skills the team does not yet have in-house.
The loan is convertible: it therefore naturally prepares the transition to the growth phase.
Venture capital takes over
Phase 2 :Growth
The start-up enters the growth phase once it has validated and confirmed its market and technology. Venture capital can then take an equity stake, alongside the instruments already used in the seed phase.
1. Capital Risque Fribourg +Equity investments and successive rounds
CHF 200,000 – 300,000 first trancheThe investment starts with an initial equity stake, sized to finance the commercial roll-out once traction has been demonstrated. It comes in addition to the instruments already in place, without replacing them.
CHF 1,200,000 cumulative maximumFinancing can then follow over successive rounds, up to a maximum of CHF 1,200,000 cumulative per company. At this stage, the canton co-invests alongside private investors rather than alone.
ConditionVenture capital investment requires a lead investor. The canton follows a round led by a private investor: it does not lead the raise itself.
Capital Risque Fribourg → 2. Economic Development Agency support +Non-repayable grants: job creation bonus
Up to CHF 10,000 per jobA bonus granted for each high value-added job created in the canton, to support building your team.
Alongside both phases
Coaching, mentoring and network
Financial support is never enough on its own. Fri Up's support measures run in parallel with the financing, at seed and growth stages alike, at the moments when a start-up's future is really at stake.