Kieler Wirtschaftsförderung

Name

Kieler Wirtschaftsförderung

Legal name

KiWi, Kieler Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Strukturentwicklungs GmbH

Website

https://kiwi-kiel.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Development Services

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN)

Keywords

• Economic development services
• Business location consulting
• Startup advisory services
• Municipal economic development
• Commercial real estate marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Kiel

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: KiWi operates as a municipal economic development corporation funded by public sources (Landeshauptstadt Kiel and potentially state/federal funds). The organization provides free advisory services to businesses and does not generate commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

KiWi is the municipal economic development agency for the City of Kiel, Germany, operating as a one-stop advisory service that links businesses, public administration, and universities. It provides free consulting on company formation, relocation, innovation, and financing, markets municipal commercial real estate, and leads urban redevelopment projects such as StrandOrt Kiel and Wissensquartier Schwentinemündung. The agency also runs startup and talent programs, including the KielRegion.Accelerates accelerator and digitalization initiatives for regional companies.

Product overview

KiWi (Kieler Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Strukturentwicklungs GmbH) operates as a single-service organization providing economic development agency services for the city of Kiel, Germany. The organization offers a unified suite of consulting and support services rather than a traditional product portfolio. Core offerings include business startup consulting (Startup-Beratung), the KielRegion.Accelerates accelerator program, digitalization support (Digitalisierung in Kiel), and commercial real estate marketing (Gewerbegebiete). Additional services encompass knowledge district development (Wissensquartier Schwentinemündung) and industrial heritage site revitalization (StrandOrt Kiel). The organization functions as a strategic intermediary connecting businesses, government administration, and universities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KielRegion.Accelerates: Startup acceleration program operated by KiWi for the Kiel region

Products and services

• Startup-Beratung (Startup Consulting) Free one-on-one consulting service for founders and startups in the Kiel region, providing support on business formation, location selection, innovation, and access to financing programs from Schleswig-Holstein and the federal government.
• KielRegion.Accelerates Regional startup accelerator program in Kiel managed by KiWi, connecting entrepreneurs with mentorship, funding opportunities, and regional partners as part of the startup and talent initiative.
• Digitalisierung in Kiel (Digitalization in Kiel) Initiative supporting digital transformation for businesses in Kiel, providing guidance and connections to digitalization programs and partners.
• Gewerbegebiete (Commercial Areas Marketing) Marketing and brokering of municipal commercial and industrial real estate on behalf of the City of Kiel, including properties such as Gewerbegebiet Grasweg-Eichkamp, Gewerbegebiet Boelckestraße, and EdisonDrei.
• Wissensquartier Schwentinemündung Knowledge district development project at the Schwentinemündung location in Kiel, managed by KiWi as part of its structural development and commercial area portfolio.
• StrandOrt Kiel Revitalization project led by KiWi and the City of Kiel that transforms a historic industrial site in Friedrichsort (over 150 years of industrial history) into a future-oriented commercial and industrial location, including walk 'n' talk tours showcasing the site's history and future plans.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKiel's largest university serves as a key research partner for KiWi's technology transfer initiatives. The university and KiWi collaborate on innovation projects, with the CAU recently hosting the EUCYS 2026 science competition and hosting two Excellence Clusters (PMI and ROOTS) funded by the DFG.
• HAW KielcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormerly Fachhochschule Kiel, renamed to Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Kiel. HAW Kiel is a key partner for applied research collaboration and graduate talent supply for regional businesses.
• Landeshauptstadt Kiel (City of Kiel)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKiWi operates as the economic development arm of the City of Kiel. The city council and city administration work with KiWi on urban development projects, commercial real estate management, and location marketing. Peter Moll serves as Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
• Duale Hochschule Schleswig-Holstein (DHSH)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of Kiel's four higher education institutions, focusing on dual study programs that provide work-integrated learning and connect students with regional businesses.
• Muthesius KunsthochschulesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerKiel's art and design university, contributing to the creative economy and innovation ecosystem through design thinking and creative industry collaborations.
• Interreg-Projekt Fehmarn Belt InnovationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-border cooperation project between Germany and Denmark focused on innovation opportunities arising from the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link. KiWi participates in FBI to foster German-Danish business collaboration.
• KielRegion.AcceleratessecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional startup accelerator program. KiWi manages and promotes this initiative as part of its startup and talent development services, connecting entrepreneurs with mentorship and funding opportunities.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hessen Trade & Invest: Hesse's state economic development agency offering investment, innovation, and internationalization services. Provides the same Wirtschaftsförderung service portfolio as KiWi from a state-level scope, competing for the same German relocation and startup formation pipeline.
• Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie: Berlin's official economic development agency offering advisory, funding access, and location marketing services to startups, SMEs, and international investors. Closely comparable in mandate and service portfolio to KiWi but operating at metropolitan scale across a global capital.
• NRW.INVEST: State-level economic development agency for North Rhine-Westphalia, providing business location consulting and inward investment promotion. Comparable in mandate to KiWi but operates at federal-state scale for Germany's most populous state.
• Hamburg Invest: Municipal economic development agency for the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, providing business location consulting, funding access, and investment promotion. Operates under the same public-mandate model as KiWi but at a much larger scale, competing directly for the same German business relocation pipeline.
• Standortmarketing München: Munich's location marketing and economic development vehicle, structuring business attraction, real estate, and startup support services. Functions as a direct economic development peer to KiWi in another major German metropolitan area.
• WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen: Bremen's municipal economic development corporation, organized as a GmbH and providing consulting, real estate marketing, and investor support. Geographic and structural analogue to KiWi as a northern German port-city economic development entity.
• Wirtschaftsförderung Lübeck: Municipal economic development organization for the Hanseatic city of Lübeck, also in Schleswig-Holstein's broader region. Most direct head-to-head peer due to shared regional geography, similar city size profile, and overlap in target investor segments.

Regional players

• KielRegion GmbH: Regional economic development entity for the wider Kiel region beyond the city itself. Contains KiWi's sub-brands (e.g., KielRegion.Accelerates) and represents the overlapping regional layer of economic development, with close partnership ties to KiWi.
• Invest in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: State-level investment promotion agency for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a neighboring state. Operates a comparable economic development model in the same northern German geographic corridor, making it a regional competitor for investors evaluating the Kiel-area vicinity.

Others

• IHK Kiel (Industrie- und Handelskammer zu Kiel): Kiel's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, providing adjacent but distinct services (membership representation, training, regulatory advocacy) to the same base of regional businesses. While not a direct competitor, it intersects with KiWi's startup and SME advisory activities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@kiwi-kiel
• Facebookfacebook.com/kiwikiel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kiwi-kiel
• Instagraminstagram.com/_kiwikiel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Kieler Wirtschaftsförderung