The EXIST Business Startup Grant (EXIST-Gründerstipendium) supports students, graduates, scholars, scientists, and researchers from higher education institutions and research institutions that are not affiliated with academia who wish to implement their startup idea in a business plan.

The startup projects should be innovative and either technology-oriented or knowledge-based, with good prospects of economic success. The EXIST Business Startup Grant is an aid program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and is co-financed by the European Social Fund.

Target Groups

• Students who have completed at least half of their studies at the time of applying.
• Young scientists, scholars, and research associates
• University graduates and former academic staff members (up to five years after getting a degree or dropping out).
• Teams of founders with a maximum of 3 persons
• One of the maximum of three team members may have a qualifying professional education and can be funded as the technical staff or one of the team members may have a degree that is more than five years old.

Requirements for Funding

• The company must not yet be founded
• Startups that focus on a technical product or process innovation or on new and innovative services.
• Innovative startup idea with sustainable prospects of economic success.
• Business idea submitted to the higher education institution in the form of an idea outline.
• The project must be supervised by a mentor from the higher education institution.
• The maximum period of funding is one year.

Conditions of Aid

• Personal monthly stipends: € 3,000 for graduates with a doctorate, € 2,500 for graduates with a different degree,€ 2.000 for technical staff, for students € 1,000 for students
• Materials and equipment: worth up to € 10,000 for solo start-ups (for teams max. € 30,000 )
• Coaching: € 5,000
• Child benefit: € 150 month per child
• Free work space as well as use of the workshops, labs, data centers, and other facilities and resources of the higher education institution

The Application Process

• The applicant is the relevant higher education institution
• Applications accepted on an ongoing basis (In case you are interested please contact Profund Innovation at least six month prior to the intended starting date of funding)

Contact person for questions about the project

• Anna Figoluschka, +49 30 838 66898, anna.figoluschka@fu-berlin.de

Further Information on the EXIST Business Startup Grant