The German Ministry of Economics has again pledged funding to small and innovative companies exhibiting at the IMA show for the first time.

The financial backing will help new companies to offset some of the costs of exhibiting. As much as 80 per cent of the stand space and construction will be underwritten by the government. The qualification is that the applicant company must be new to business in the past 10 years, employ fewer than 50 people and have a turnover of less than €10m.

IMA will run from January 18 to 21 at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre and is organised on behalf of the coin machine industry by Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH.