The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) has reissued the guidelines for the EXIST-Gründerstipendium and EXIST-Forschungstransfer funding programs and adjusted their content. The goals of the revision of the guidelines include increasing the proportion of women and diversity in the startup teams, increasing the alignment of the startup projects with the German Sustainable Development Goals, and further increasing the quality and quantity of startups from science.
The goal: more female founders and diversity
The guidelines replace the previously valid funding guidelines for EXIST-Gründerstipendium and EXIST-Forschungstransfer. Both programs are co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF). Applications for funding can be submitted until December 31, 2027, which gives potential founders planning security for the next few years. The new version and changes to the content of the two program guidelines stem from the Startup Strategy adopted by the German government on July 27, 2022.
Over the past 25 years, the BMWK has gradually adjusted the funding guidelines and the support of the program in order to increase the share of female founders in the startup teams to 23% at last count. To further increase this figure, the guidelines have been made even more family-friendly. For example, for all projects approved from May 1, it is possible to extend the duration of the projects if female team members have offspring. In the future, universities and research institutions will be more strongly rewarded for their efforts to recruit more female or diverse teams of founders.
At the request of the grant recipient, the project duration can be extended once by three months with continued payment of the founding team's grants, provided one of the team members gives birth to a child during the term of the program.
Incentive bonus: The funding amount is increased by 2,500 euros if the founding team is diverse (in the sense of different gender distribution and nationality).
The sum is also increased by 2,500 euros if a female mentor can be recruited to provide professional support.
Downloads of the complete guidelines: EXIST-Gründerstipendium and EXIST-Forschungstransfer.
You can also read a detailed report here.
