Supports women with mentoring, coaching, and financial funding on their path to entrepreneurship and professional independence.

Get advice on this program

With EXIST-Women by Science & Startups, a total of 30 women* interested in or inclined towards founding businesses have the opportunity to become thoroughly familiar with business creation and self-employment. The program is aimed at graduates, scientists, students, and women* with professional qualifications who want to found businesses either solo or in teams.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) has launched this new funding program to increase the proportion of female founders. The EXIST Women pilot project aims to support women* in developing business ideas to achieve greater diversity in startups and increase the quota of female founders.

This is a 10-month mentoring program that includes coaching, mentoring, qualification, and networking, along with individual support from mentors, a peer-learning program and material resources worth €2,000 per person, and a three-month scholarship of €2,500 for graduates (plus €150 for each child).

1. Training and workshops, mentor matching, scholarship
2. Business modelling, mentoring, mindset training
3. Possible follow-up financing, individual coaching, mentoring

Additionally: Accompanying events and activities, workspace in our incubators, a peer-learning program with other participants, as well as individual coaching and intensive startup consulting in the incubator.

The program starts on 03/01/2025 and runs until 11/30/2025. Scholarship payments are made for 3 months, and the material resources allowance is paid as a one-time payment. Compliance with the funding conditions is required (see below).

This is a project of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action to significantly increase the current quota of female founders.

1. 20-minute consultation with one of our startup consultants. Book an appointment!
2. Receipt of application form from startup consultant and submission by 01/31/2025 at the latest
3. 5-10 minute pitch and Q&A (02/10-12/2025)
4. Acceptance into the scholarship program (02/14/2025)

Conditions for receiving a scholarship are

• You have no income or work maximum 20 hours/week: This condition only applies to receiving the three-month scholarship.
• Simultaneous funding through a scholarship with the startup grant from the employment agency is not possible.
• You have not previously completed an EXIST Startup Scholarship, Berlin Startup Scholarship, or similar startup funding programs.
• You have not founded a company at the time of application.

The scholarship amount depends on your qualification level and is distributed as follows

• Students (minimum bachelor’s degree or 50% of studies completed): €1,000
• Women* with completed vocational training: €2,000
• Graduates with university degree: €2,500
• Women* with doctorate: €3,000

Please also check all other funding conditions on the funding provider’s website

We look forward to your application!