Studentenwerk Marburg

What Studentenwerk Marburg does

Studentenwerk Marburg is a German public law institution (Studierendenwerk Marburg A. d. ö. R.) founded in 1924 and operating under the supervision of the Hessian Ministry for Science and the Arts. It delivers mandated student welfare services — including subsidized dining, student housing, BAföG financial aid administration, social and psychotherapy counseling, childcare, and cultural programming — to approximately 22,000–25,000 students enrolled at Philipps-Universität Marburg. The organization operates 14 dining facilities (Mensa Erlenring, Mensa Lahnberge, the Bistro, several cafés, and the Mensa Mobil food truck), 2,100 housing places across 12 dormitories, dedicated BAföG offices, and counseling centers staffed by personnel from the Philipps-Universität Psychiatric Clinic, including the inclusive Konrad-Biesalski-Haus for students with disabilities.

Its core technology is largely administrative and operational: the Ucard cashless payment system for dining, an online housing application portal, the federal BAföG Digital platform for financial aid processing, and the RED Medical encrypted video consultation platform for remote counseling. There is no proprietary AI or data platform; the stack is composed of standard sector software integrated with national digital services.

The organization's revenue model is funded through three primary channels: (1) recurring student semester contributions (fees) from enrolled Philipps-Universität Marburg students, (2) transaction-based revenues from dining and catering services and monthly housing rents (approximately €312/month including internet), and (3) federal and state government subsidies for student welfare functions including BAföG administration. As a non-profit public institution it holds a state-mandated monopoly on BAföG administration and subsidized student housing allocation for its university catchment, and is governed by a board (Verwaltungsrat) with university, student, and state representation — the entity is not investable in the conventional PE/VC sense and reports no fundraising rounds or ownership outside the public-law framework.

Name

Studentenwerk Marburg

Legal name

Studierendenwerk Marburg A. d. ö. R.

Website

https://studentenwerk-marburg.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1924

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Studentenwerk Marburg is a public-law student services organization operating since 1924, providing subsidized dining, housing, BAföG financial aid administration, counseling, and childcare to approximately 22,000–25,000 students at Philipps-Universität Marburg.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Student Services

NAICS

Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps (72131), Cafeterias, Grill Buffets, and Buffets (722514), Other Residential Care Facilities (623990)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

University Dorms & Affiliated Summer Housing (THAMAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Dining & Meal Plans (EDALADAA), Student & Academic Term Monthly Housing (THAMAFAH), Student/Academic Serviced Residences (THAGAEAF)

Keywords

• Student housing services
• University dining services
• Student financial aid
• Social counseling services
• Student welfare services

Headquarters

HQ city

Marburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Student Contributions/Fees: Semester fees collected from enrolled students at Philipps-Universität Marburg that fund Studierendenwerk operations and services
2. Dining Services Revenue: Revenue from food and beverage sales at mensas, cafeterias, and catering services across all locations
3. Student Housing Rent: Monthly rent payments from approximately 2,100 student housing units across 12 dormitory locations
4. Government Subsidies: Public funding and subsidies from federal and state governments for student welfare services including BAföG administration

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Studierendenwerk Marburg operates subsidized student dining facilities (mensas, cafeterias, bistros, and a mobile food truck) and manages approximately 2,100 student housing places across 12+ dormitories. It additionally administers federal student financial aid (BAföG) and provides free social, psychological, and childcare counseling services to enrolled students at Philipps-Universität Marburg.

Product overview

Studierendenwerk Marburg is a student services organization (Studierendenwerk) providing comprehensive support services for approximately 22,000-25,000 students at Philipps-Universität Marburg. The organization operates a multi-facility dining operation (Essen & Trinken) including two main cafeterias (Mensa Erlenring and Mensa Lahnberge), the Bistro, multiple cafes (Café Zeitlos, Café Satz with its unique insect bar, CoLibri, and others), and the Mensa Mobil food truck serving decentralized campus locations. The housing division (Wohnen) manages approximately 2,100 student housing places across 15+ dormitories including the notable inclusive Konrad-Biesalski-Haus. Financial support services (BAföG & Finanzierung) administer government education funding through digital and paper-based applications. Counseling services (Beratung & Kitas) include free social counseling, psychotherapy, childcare facilities, and specialized support for students with disabilities. Cultural programming is provided through the Max-Kade-Zentrum. All services are interconnected to support student welfare, with the Ucard cashless payment system enabling transactions across all dining facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Café Satz: Insect bar opened in November 2025 at Gutenbergstraße 31, offering insect-based food options.
• Mensa Vital
• Mensa Mobil
• Max-Kade-Zentrum

Products and services

• Student Dining Facilities (Mensas, Cafés, Bistros) 14 dining locations across Marburg including Mensa Erlenring, Mensa Lahnberge, Philipps Bistro, Cafeteria Lahnberge, Café Leonardo, Café Zeitlos, CoLibri, Mo's Diner, KadeBar, Auszeit, and Automatencafé, offering subsidized breakfast, lunch, dinner, vegetarian, vegan, and Vital Linie healthy options to enrolled students.
• Café Satz (Insect Bar) Insect-based food bar offering dishes featuring mealworms, grasshoppers, and house crickets as a sustainable protein alternative for students.
• Mensa Mobil (Mobile Food Service)

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Studierendenwerk PoitierscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026International partnership celebrating 50 years of collaboration between student services organizations, with exchange programs and joint cultural initiatives. Includes reciprocal visits and celebration events.
• Hessisches Umweltministerium (Hesse Environmental Ministry)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership as one of 100 KlimaKantinen (Climate Canteens) recognizing sustainable food practices and environmental leadership in Hesse.
• PETA Deutschland e.V.minorOthersRecognition program awarding vegan-friendliness ratings to dining facilities. Studierendenwerk received 4 out of 5 leaves for both Mensa Erlenring and Mensa Lahnberge.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Deutsches Studierendenwerk (DSW): National umbrella organization representing all 57 German Studierendenwerke. Provides policy advocacy, benchmarking, and shared services. Relevant for understanding peer-group positioning and national policy context.

Direct peers

• Studierendenwerk Darmstadt: Hessen Studierendenwerk serving Technische Universität Darmstadt with analogous services (mensas, dormitories, BAföG, counseling). Same legal form (A. d. ö. R.) and operating model, making it a directly comparable peer for benchmarking.
• Studierendenwerk Frankfurt am Main: Another Hessen-region Studierendenwerk serving Goethe-Universität Frankfurt and other Frankfurt institutions with comparable dining, housing, BAföG, and counseling services. Closest structural peer given shared state regulatory framework and service mandate.
• Studierendenwerk Gießen: Hessen-region Studierendenwerk serving Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen with the same legal mandate for student dining, housing, and BAföG administration. Operates under identical state regulatory framework with comparable service offerings.
• Studierendenwerk Kassel: Hessen-region Studierendenwerk serving Universität Kassel. Same legal structure, service mandate, and state oversight as Studierendenwerk Marburg, operating dining halls, dormitories, and BAföG administration.
• Studierendenwerk Würzburg: Bavarian Studierendenwerk serving Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg with the same comprehensive student welfare mandate. While in a different state, the operating model and service portfolio are directly comparable.

Regional players

• CROUS: French national student services organization providing dining, housing, and financial aid across French universities. Functionally equivalent to Studierendenwerke at national scale, useful for cross-border service model comparison and the 50-year Poitiers partnership context.

Broad incumbents

• Studierendenwerk München: Largest German Studierendenwerk serving multiple Munich universities (LMU, TUM) with significantly greater scale. Comparable in service offering (dining, housing, BAföG) but operates across multiple institutions in a much larger metropolitan area.
• Studierendenwerk Berlin: Berlin Studierendenwerk serving multiple universities and Fachhochschulen in the capital region. Comparable mandate and service portfolio but at significantly larger scale and broader institutional coverage than Studierendenwerk Marburg.
• Studierendenwerk Hamburg: Hamburg Studierendenwerk serving Universität Hamburg and other Hamburg institutions. Directly comparable in service offering but operates at much larger scale across multiple universities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/studentenwerkmarburg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/studentenwerk-marburg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Studentenwerk Marburg