Support measures for start ups
On this page, you will find information and data about the Covid-19 guarantees for start ups.
Table of contents
- Covid-19 guarantees for start ups overview
- Number and volume of guarantees for start ups
- Fully repaid bridging credits under the start up guarantee program
- Honoring on guarantees under the start up guarantee program
- Further analyses on start-up guarantees granted
- Participating cantons
- Legal basis
- Media releases
- Interim report on COVID-19 start-up guarantees
- Other information
- Media contact
Covid-19 guarantees for start ups overview
The table below provides an overview of the COVID-19 guarantees for start ups that have been granted, those that have been repaid in full and those that have been honored to date, as well as the resulting COVID-19 guarantees for start ups that are still outstanding.
Covid-19 guarantees for start ups overview
| Status of guarantees | Number of guarantees | Average amount in CHF | Granted guarantee volume in CHF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granted Covid-19 start up guarantees | 359 | 275'178 | 98'788'785 |
| Fully repaid Covid-19 start up guarantees | 95 | 257'177 | 24'431'853 |
| Covid-19 start up guarantees with honored volume | 84 | 309'246 | 25'976'628 |
| Current Covid-19 start up guarantees | 180 | 268'779 | 48'380'304 |
Last updated: 24.09.2025
Fully repaid bridging credits under the start up guarantee program
The table below shows the bridging credits fully repaid by the borrowers in the specified year under the start up guarantee program, whereupon the corresponding guarantee organizations were exonerated of their solidarity guarantee by the lenders. Partial repayments without guarantee exoneration are not shown in the table below.
| Number of credits | Average repaid amount in CHF | Repaid amounts in CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 19 | 287'236 | 5'457'478 |
| 2022 | 31 | 308'425 | 9'561'168 |
| 2023 | 20 | 185'914 | 3'718'278 |
| 2024 | 15 | 207'025 | 3'105'371 |
| 2025 | 10 | 258'956 | 2'589'558 |
| Total | 95 | 257'177 | 24'431'853 |
Last updated: 24.09.2025
Honoring on guarantees under the start up guarantee program
The following table provides information on the honoring of guarantees under the start up guarantee program in the specified year. These are bridging loans for start ups for which the banks have drawn down the guarantee. With the transfer of the honored amount from the guarantee organisations to the banks, the claims against the borrowers are transferred to the guarantee organisations. The numbers listed in the table below include both the 65% share guaranteed by the federal government and the 35% share guaranteed by the cantons. The honored amount may differ from the guarantee amount, on the one hand, because the amount of the guarantee may exceed the amount of the credit granted, and on the other hand, because the amount of the guarantee may exceed the amount of the credit granted, and on the other hand, as the banks only draw down the guarantee for the portion of the credit that the borrowers have used. In the course of the receivables management, the guarantee organizations take all necessary precautions to recover outstanding receivables (recoveries).
| Number of credits | Average honored amount in CHF | Honored amounts in CHF | Guarantee amounts in CHF | Recoveries in CHF | Share of recoveries of amounts honored | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 310'998 | 932'995 | 1'055'000 | 66'050 | 7% |
| 2022 | 9 | 227'799 | 2'050'192 | 2'359'782 | 442'936 | 22% |
| 2023 | 24 | 217'730 | 5'225'529 | 6'295'799 | 298'900 | 6% |
| 2024 | 31 | 238'903 | 7'405'978 | 10'729'232 | 323'169 | 4% |
| 2025 | 17 | 244'024 | 4'329'382 | 5'536'815 | 54'593 | 1% |
| Total | 84 | 235'170 | 19'944'076 | 25'976'628 | 1'185'649 | 6% |
Last updated: 24.09.2025
Further analyses on start-up guarantees granted
The graphs in this section illustrate the distributions of startup guarantees granted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic by selected specifications, such as canton or sector. These visualizations provide background knowledge and are based on data from the guarantee organizations. In order to exclude any conclusions about individual companies and to guarantee their anonymity, only aggregated data can be made available. Due to rounding, it is possible that the sum of the shares may not be 100%.
Status: 04.12.2020
Graphic for download: Number of guarantees by canton [png]
Graphic for download: Guarantee volume by canton [png]
Graphic for download: Number of guarantees by banking group [png]
Graphic for download: Guarantee volume by banking group [png]
Graphic for download: Top 10 banks by number of guarantees [png]
Graphic for download: Top 10 banks by guarantee volume [png]
Graphic for download: Number of guarantees by group of economic activities (NOGA section) [png]
Graphic for download: Guarantee volume by group of economic activities (NOGA section) [png]
Graphic for download: Top 10 sectors (NOGA division) by number of guarantees [png]
Graphic for download: Top 10 sectors (NOGA division) by guarantee volume [png]
Graphic for download: Number of guarantees by legal form of the company [png]
Graphic for download: Guarantee volume by legal form of the company [png]
Graphic for download: Average guarantee amount by legal form of the company [png]
Graphic for download: Number of guarantees by company size (FTE) [png]
Graphic for download: Guarantee volume by company size (FTE) [png]
Graphic for download: Number of guarantees by guarantee organisation [png]
Graphic for download: Guarantee volume by guarantee organisation [png]
Legal basis
Media releases
- Media release of 28.05.2025:
Bundesrat verabschiedet Zwischenbericht zu den Covid-19 Startup-Bürgschaften - Media release of 14.12.2020:
Covid-19: Startup-Bürgschaftsprogramm erfolgreich umgesetzt - Media release of 04.05.2020:
Covid-19: liquidity support for startups up and running - Media release of 22.04.2020:
Covid-19: Innovative start-ups to receive additional federal support
Interim report on COVID-19 start-up guarantees
The Federal Council’s interim report on COVID-19 start-up guarantees was adopted on 28 May 2025, around five years after the program was launched. It provides information on the structure of the COVID-19 start-up guarantee scheme and on abuse prevention and control. In addition, the report complements the website with evaluations of the COVID-19 start-up guarantees granted, honored and outstanding at the end of January 2025. Finally, the COVID-19 start-up guarantee program is analyzed using a simplified impact model. The report is available exclusively in German and French.