Digital Entepreneurship Hub

What Digital Entepreneurship Hub does

Digital Entrepreneurship Hub (DEH) is a non-commercial academic coordination unit (Einrichtung) of Freie Universität Berlin, officially opened on June 9, 2018, by co-founders Prof. Dr. Hannes Rothe, Prof. Dr. Martin Gersch, and Prof. Dr. Janina Sundermeier. DEH functions as the central point of contact for entrepreneurship education and research at FU Berlin, bundling discipline-specific and interdisciplinary support offerings across all faculties at Bachelor, Master, and (Post)Doc levels. Its operational model centers on three activity tracks: teaching (Funpreneur competition, BusinessplanLab, learning paths, seminars such as Unternehmensgründung and Kundenprojekt Web-Technologien), research (smart service systems, platform ecosystems, digital health, EdTech, and digital transformation, conducted via projects including HEALTH-X dataLOFT, GreenCHEM, and RimA), and startup support (EXIST Gründungsstipendium, Berlin Startup Scholarship, and Research-to-Market Challenge channelled through Profund Innovation).

DEH does not develop proprietary commercial technology products. Its outputs are programs, research publications (in venues including the European Journal of Information Systems, Strategic Management Journal, and JAIS), and an event-driven ecosystem connecting students, researchers, founders, and industry partners such as TU Berlin, Humboldt-Universität, Berlin Chemie AG, and Covestro. The organization is funded through FU Berlin institutional resources and competitive public grants, primarily from the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) — including a €2.25M allocation to the RimA assistive robotics program and €362K for GreenCHEM — and the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz (BMWK). The international Net Economy Program extends collaborations to Sweden, Jakarta, and Austria.

Business model is non-commercial: DEH operates as a public higher-education entity without published pricing, revenue, or customer contracts. Its GTM motion is internal-to-FU-Berlin (university channels, faculty referrals, decentralized lecturer network) supplemented by event-based outreach, LinkedIn, Instagram, and an email newsletter. Customer segments — FU Berlin students, researchers/academics, startup founders, and alumni — participate in programs rather than purchase commercial offerings.

Name

Digital Entepreneurship Hub

Legal name

Digital Entrepreneurship Hub

Website

https://de-hub.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Digital Entrepreneurship Hub is a non-commercial academic unit of Freie Universität Berlin that coordinates entrepreneurship education and bundled research across all faculties, serving students, researchers, and startup founders through teaching programs, BMBF-funded research projects, and startup support initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

University Entrepreneurship Education and Research

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Support Services (61171), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Venture Creation Centers (EDAHAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Entrepreneurship, Business & Innovation Camps (EDAMALAL)

Keywords

• Entrepreneurship education programs
• Academic research services
• Startup support programs
• Digital transformation research
• University incubation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Digital Entrepreneurship Hub (DEH) is an academic unit of Freie Universität Berlin that coordinates entrepreneurship education and bundles entrepreneurship research across all faculties. It provides cross-disciplinary educational programs from Bachelor to Postdoc levels, startup support services (EXIST grants, Berlin Startup Scholarship, Funpreneur competition), and conducts research in digital entrepreneurship, platform ecosystems, digital health innovation, and AI entrepreneurship.

Product overview

The Digital Entrepreneurship Hub (DEH) is a single unified educational and research coordination platform rather than a modular software product. It serves as the central point of contact for entrepreneurship education and research at Freie Universität Berlin, offering various programs including Funpreneur competitions, BusinessplanLab, Net Economy Award, and research projects such as HEALTH-X dataLOFT, K.I.E.Z., and RimA. The hub operates through a decentralized network of lecturers and partners including Profund Innovation and various university departments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Entrepreneurship Education Learning Paths (Bachelor, Master, Postdoc) Structured educational programs for students of all faculties at Freie Universität Berlin covering entrepreneurial thinking and acting, with flexible learning paths combining seminars and practical modules.
• EXIST Startup Grant Support Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Since June 9, 2018, officially coordinating Entrepreneurship Education at Freie Universität Berlin
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

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

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Technische Universität BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023Partner in the GreenCHEM project, one of three Exzellenzuniversitäten (Excellence Universities) collaborating with Freie Universität Berlin. TU Berlin contributes to the transfer ecosystem for green chemistry innovations.
• Humboldt Universität zu BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023Partner in the GreenCHEM project, one of three Exzellenzuniversitäten collaborating on this BMBF-funded initiative to create a living transfer ecosystem for sustainable chemical innovations.
• Berlin Chemie AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023Industry partner in the GreenCHEM project contributing to the transfer ecosystem for green chemistry innovations in the Berlin-Brandenburg region.
• Covestro AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023Industry partner in the GreenCHEM project, one of the initial partners helping create a self-sustaining transfer ecosystem for sustainable innovation.
• HEALTH-X dataLOFTcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022BMBF-funded project on health data space where DEH and the Gersch Professorship support development of sustainable business models for startups and operators in the emerging health data ecosystem.
• Profund InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Profund Innovation is the startup support division of Freie Universität Berlin. DEH works closely with Profund to provide entrepreneurship education and support services. This partnership enables coordination of support offerings and integration of practical startup guidance into academic programs.
• Freie Universität BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDEH is an official facility of Freie Universität Berlin. The university provides institutional support, funding, and access to student population. DEH coordinates entrepreneurship education and bundles research activities within the university structure.
• Berliner SparkasseminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNew partner in the Funpreneur competition, supporting student entrepreneurship through financial backing and promotional activities.
• IHK BerlinminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner in the Funpreneur competition, providing venue and organizational support for student startup competitions.
• HÄRTING RechtsanwälteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLegal partner supporting the Funpreneur competition with legal expertise for student entrepreneurs.
• Wirtschaftsjunioren Berlin E.V.minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner in Funpreneur competition, providing networking and mentorship opportunities for student entrepreneurs.
• Postdocs-to-Innovators Network (p2i)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFreie Universität Berlin is an official partner of the p2i network. This innovative approach to promoting relations between universities and industry has been recognized by the League of European Research Universities (LERU) and featured in Nature in 2018.
• League of European Research Universities (LERU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecognized p2i as a particularly innovative approach to promoting university-industry relations, featuring this recognition in a 2018 report presented by Nature.
• Businessplan-Wettbewerb Berlin-BrandenburgminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRecommended endpoint for Bachelor learning paths, allowing students to apply skills developed through DEH programs in regional business plan competition.
• Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with ECDF on research events and hosts activities at their facility. Partnership enables joint hosting of events like Digital Startup Ecosystem during Berlin Science Week.
• Charité Technology Transfer OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the teaching network, contributing to interdisciplinary entrepreneurship education through the de-centralized network of lecturers.
• Dahlem Research SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUmbrella organization for structured doctoral programs at Freie Universität Berlin, partner in the teaching network providing PhD and Postdoc entrepreneurship programs.
• Aivar TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup spinoff from DEH featured in international academic research published in the European Journal of Information Systems, demonstrating DEH's role in supporting research-based ventures.
• Net Economy ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational cooperation program promoting innovation in the digital economy. Partners from Sweden, Jakarta, Austria, and Germany participate in student workshops and award meetings hosted at DEH.
• Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosts the Long Night of Sciences 2025 event featuring the HEALTH-X dataLOFT project, co-organized with DEH participation.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/digital-entrepreneurship-hub
• Instagraminstagram.com/entrepreneurship.fu_berlin

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 Digital Entepreneurship Hub