The start-up funding programme “EXIST – Start-ups from Science” has been expanded to include the funding line “EXIST Women”. This is intended to encourage women from universities and research institutions to take the path to entrepreneurial independence. In this way, there should be more innovative start-ups by women in the future. The Federal Government will provide a total of 6.5 million euros for the new programme line in 2023: Project Management Jülich (PtJ) is supporting the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) in implementing “EXIST-Women”.
With the funding programme “EXIST – Start-ups from Science”, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) has been contributing for many years to increasing the number and quality of spin-offs from science and improving the start-up climate at universities and non-university research institutions. The BMWK is expanding start-up funding for female entrepreneurs and founders from the scientific environment. To this end, the established EXIST funding programme has been expanded to include the new “EXIST-Women” funding line: the aim of this programme line is to encourage women from universities and research institutions to take the step into entrepreneurial independence so that in future more women will act as managing directors and shareholders of innovative start-ups.
Strengthening the potential of women entrepreneurs
With this new funding line, the BMWK is implementing an important project of the Federal Government’s Start-up Strategy. The promotion of female start-up founders and diversity is one of the fields of action in the strategy. So far, the share of women in start-ups in Germany is still low, so that a considerable part of the existing start-up potential is not being exploited. In the EXIST programme, the share of female founders has averaged around 20 percent in recent years. This share is to be increased significantly in the coming years. The Federal Government will provide a total of 6.5 million euros for the new programme line in 2023. The funding is open to all topics and technologies.
The EXIST-Women project process
During the 12-month qualification programme in the funding period, the prospective female entrepreneurs are supported in particular in the development of their entrepreneurial personality and the (further) development of their start-up idea. The funded women are given workplaces at the applicant institution (e.g. in start-up centres, libraries or similar) as well as the opportunity to use the infrastructure, take part in support and training measures offered both centrally and decentrally by the local start-up network, network with other women in the EXIST Women cohort and regularly exchange ideas with an entrepreneurial mentor with start-up experience. Together with coaches, supporters, the future founders validate their start-up idea, develop a suitable business model for it and work out a roadmap for the next steps into self-employment. This also includes the search for co-founders and questions of follow-up financing, e.g. via a start-up funding programme such as the EXIST start-up grant or EXIST research transfer.
Weiterführende Links:
Project progress with EXIST-Women
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK)
Project Management Jülich (PtJ)
