Women have innovation potential, but still rarely dare to take the step into self-employment.
The proportion of female founders in Germany and Hamburg is growing steadily, but women are still underrepresented in the startup scene. Most startups are founded by men, especially the capital-intensive ones. The Hamburg Senate has therefore decided to set up a female founders programme and to provide even more support for female founders in Hamburg, for example in the areas of financing and law. Female founders events are also intended to facilitate the exchange and networking of female founders with each other and with investors.
-
News | Jun 7, 2024INLEAP Photonics takes first place at Female StartAperitivo 2024
-
News | Feb 17, 20253 prominent serial founders from Hamburg
-
News | Jan 31, 2025The Future Founder Demo Day impressed with strong ideas
-
News | Jan 14, 2025University of Hamburg announces 10 EXIST-Women scholarships
-
News | Jan 10, 2025Female innovators wanted for the IDEE-Förderpreis
Female Founders in Hamburg
Hamburg is home to many female founders who have successfully developed their business idea into a profitable company. Traceless materials by Anne Lamp and Johanna Baare, for example, offers an alternative to plastics based on natural ingredients.
At the deep-tech startup ai-omatic, the founding team includes one woman and two men. It has launched a cloud-based software solution for predictive maintenance of machines.
Support Programmes & Organizations
-
Public Organizations
Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank
(IFB Hamburg)IFB Hamburg is Hamburg’s central funding body, implementing financial support programmes on behalf of the City of Hamburg in the areas of housing, business, environment and innovation. In addition to grants, equity capital and...Learn more -
Incubators, Accelerators & Company Builder
Sparkassen Innovation Hub
Together with external partners and the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, innovative FinTech ideas are developed into prototypes. In addition, they host the annual Symbioticon hackathon.Learn more -
Incubators, Accelerators & Company Builder
Media Lift
The content and tech incubator starts every year in spring supporting 5 startups for 5 month with 15.000€, a mentor network of over 50 persons and entrepreneurial coachings.Learn more -
The percentage of women among startup founders is still low. Women often face the challenge of balancing startup and family life. Yet female founders place more emphasis on sustainability and the ecological impact of their company than male founders do; this is incredibly important for the future and should be further encouraged. Some successful female founders are already showing that women are also made for entrepreneurship and can be an inspiring role model for other women who want to start their own businesses.