Incentivising Investment in the Digitalisation of SMEs

Economies and societies worldwide are currently in a digital transformation process. Digitalisation is seen as an important enabler for innovation. However, recent studies show that especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany often hesitantly promote digitalisation in their own company and that they invest too little in digitalisation compared to large firms as well as internationally. A successful digitalisation of German SMEs is regarded as a key pillar to secure medium- and long-term growth and prosperity.

The aim of this project is to investigate which incentives are promising to increase investments in digitalisation of SMEs. First, the project will identify gaps within the digitalisation of SMEs in Germany, with a focus on digital technologies and digital know-how. Based on these results the project will propose and evaluate specific incentive measures that contribute to closing the digital investment gap.