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
- 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
Number and volume of guarantees for start ups
A dedicated guarantee process was set up to ensure bank credits for qualified start-ups, using the pre-existing guarantee system as a basis. Start ups were able to submit guarantee applications from 7 May until 31 August 2020. The tables below show the final figures for the guarantees requested by and granted for startups.
Number of guarantee applications
| Canton | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Quota | ||||
| AG | 31 | 17 | 53% | 1 | 13 |
| AR | 5 | 4 | 80% | 0 | 1 |
| BE | 59 | 22 | 37% | 5 | 32 |
| BL | 12 | 6 | 50% | 2 | 4 |
| BS | 37 | 17 | 47% | 4 | 16 |
| FR | 22 | 12 | 55% | 0 | 10 |
| GE | 18 | 0 | 0% | 1 | 17 |
| GL | 3 | 0 | 0% | 1 | 2 |
| GR | 5 | 2 | 40% | 0 | 3 |
| JU | 6 | 1 | 17% | 0 | 5 |
| LU | 41 | 21 | 51% | 2 | 18 |
| NE | 16 | 3 | 19% | 0 | 13 |
| SG | 8 | 5 | 63% | 0 | 3 |
| SH | 12 | 1 | 8% | 0 | 11 |
| SO | 8 | 7 | 88% | 0 | 1 |
| SZ | 37 | 18 | 49% | 1 | 18 |
| TI | 30 | 18 | 60% | 0 | 12 |
| UR | 1 | 1 | 100% | 0 | 0 |
| VD | 177 | 38 | 21% | 8 | 131 |
| VS | 20 | 8 | 40% | 1 | 11 |
| ZG | 88 | 47 | 53% | 3 | 38 |
| Total | 636 | 248 | 39% | 29 | 359 |
Guarantees granted
| Canton | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Guarantee volume in CHF | % of Total | Average amount in CHF | |
| AG | 13 | 3'592'420 | 3.6% | 276'340 |
| AR | 1 | 75'000 | 0.1% | 75'000 |
| BE | 32 | 9'635'000 | 9.8% | 301'094 |
| BL | 4 | 877'106 | 0.9% | 219'277 |
| BS | 16 | 4'478'991 | 4.5% | 305'801 |
| FR | 10 | 3'051'840 | 3.1% | 305'184 |
| GE | 17 | 3'347'740 | 3.4% | 196'926 |
| GL | 2 | 350'000 | 0.4% | 175'000 |
| GR | 3 | 594'100 | 0.6% | 198'033 |
| JU | 5 | 1'257'500 | 1.3% | 251'500 |
| LU | 18 | 1'693'200 | 1.7% | 94'067 |
| NE | 13 | 2'662'800 | 2.7% | 204'831 |
| SG | 3 | 1'465'000 | 1.5% | 488'333 |
| SH | 11 | 3'060'000 | 3.1% | 278'182 |
| SO | 1 | 705'000 | 0.7% | 705'000 |
| SZ | 18 | 6'105'778 | 6.2% | 339'210 |
| TI | 12 | 3'970'466 | 4.0% | 330'872 |
| UR | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| VD | 131 | 36'089'936 | 36.5% | 275'496 |
| VS | 11 | 2'792'500 | 2.8% | 253'864 |
| ZG | 38 | 12'705'381 | 12.9% | 334'352 |
| Total | 359 | 98'788'785 | 100% | 275'178 |
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 | 9 | 285'395 | 2'568'558 |
| Total | 94 | 259'690 | 24'410'853 |
Last updated: 26.06.2025
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.
| Number of credits | Average honored amount in CHF | Honored amounts in CHF | Guarantee amounts in CHF |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 310'998 | 932'995 | 1'055'000 |
| 2022 | 9 | 227'799 | 2'050'192 | 2'359'782 |
| 2023 | 24 | 217'730 | 5'225'529 | 6'295'799 |
| 2024 | 31 | 238'903 | 7'405'978 | 10'729'232 |
| 2025 | 8 | 56'326 | 450'611 | 994'252 |
| Total | 75 | 214'204 | 16'065'305 | 21'434'065 |
Last updated: 26.06.2025
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.