Startup Incubator Berlin

What Startup Incubator Berlin does

Startup Incubator Berlin (SIB) is the entrepreneurship center (Gründungszentrum) of Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin (HWR Berlin), a public university of applied sciences. Established as part of HWR Berlin's strategy to promote entrepreneurial thinking, SIB operates a Lean-Incubator model that guides academic and external founding teams from initial ideation through Problem-Solution Fit and Product-Market Fit using the Build-Measure-Learn methodology. The organization delivers a tiered program portfolio — from pre-idea workshops (Startup Now), short validation cycles (Lean Startup Sprint), to funded scholarship programs including the Berliner Startup Stipendium (€2,500/month per founder for up to 12 months) and federal EXIST grants — all provided free of charge with no equity taken.

SIB's service stack is anchored by physical infrastructure at CIC Berlin (Lohmühlenstraße 65) and, since January 2025, at Ullsteinhaus via The Drivery partnership, supplemented by the A32 Entrepreneurs Forum Berlin Siemensstadt. On-site facilities include co-working spaces, a Design Thinking Lab, a Prototyping Lab equipped with laser cutter, 3D printer, milling machine and soldering station, a 60 m² multi-camera video studio, and the SIB Media Lab offering five media production formats. Founders are supported by 52 external coaches and mentors, structured peer-learning formats, and curated events including Demo Days, Pitch Nights, Co-Founder Matching, and the monthly FemaleCapital Pitch Night. Over 300 startups have passed through the portfolio, with approximately 95% of Berliner Startup Stipendium graduates forming limited liability companies.

SIB does not generate commercial revenue. It is funded through a layered public-grant stack — federal EXIST-Potentiale funding (€2M over four years awarded in 2019), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), and the Berlin Senate Department for Economic Affairs (€31M total Berlin program, of which €3.2M was allocated to HWR Berlin in the 2026 round). Its customer base comprises HWR Berlin students, researchers, alumni, external founders, and women-majority teams served through the dedicated BSS Women and EXIST Women funding lines. The organization operates exclusively within Berlin and Germany under the management of Co-Managing Directors Matthias Grytzka and Marvin Göldner, with Christian Gurol having previously led the centre.

Name

Startup Incubator Berlin

Legal name

Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin (HWR Berlin)

Website

https://startup-incubator.berlin

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Startup Incubator Berlin is the publicly-funded entrepreneurship center of HWR Berlin, offering Lean-Incubator programs, scholarships, coaching, and prototyping facilities to academic founders, external entrepreneurs, and women-majority teams in Berlin.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Incubation & Entrepreneurship Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Support Services (611710)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Accelerators & Startup Programs (FSANAHAD), Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Technical Universities with Entrepreneurship & Incubation Focus (EDAHAEAH)

Keywords

• Startup incubation services
• Entrepreneurship education programs
• Business coaching and mentoring
• Startup funding programs
• Academic entrepreneurship support

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public funding & grants: Startup Incubator Berlin is a publicly funded entrepreneurship center of HWR Berlin. It receives funding from EXIST (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy), ESF+ (European Social Fund Plus), and Land Berlin Senate Department for Economic Affairs. Programs such as Berliner Startup Stipendium provide direct financial grants to founders (€2,500/month per person). The incubator itself does not generate commercial revenue from its programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Startup Incubator Berlin runs publicly funded startup incubation programs (Berliner Startup Stipendium at €2,500/month per founder, EXIST/EXIST Women federal scholarships, Lean Startup Sprint, Startup Now) for academic and external founders. It provides co-working workspaces, a Design Thinking Lab, a Prototyping Lab, a Video Studio, and the SIB Media Lab, supported by 52+ coaches and mentors applying the Lean Startup methodology. All programs are free of charge and the incubator takes no equity from funded startups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SIB Media Lab: Professional media production studios for startups including video, podcast, photography, and live streaming services, operated in cooperation with CIC Berlin

Products and services

• Berliner Startup Stipendium (BSS) Six-month publicly funded scholarship (extendable to 12 months) that provides €2,500/month per founder (1–4 founders per team), workspace, coaching, mentoring, and network access. No equity is taken. The BSS Women line supports women-majority teams (≥51% women). Co-financed by ESF+ and Land Berlin.
• EXIST & EXIST Women Federal EXIST scholarship program supporting research- and knowledge-based startups, with a dedicated EXIST Women funding line for women founders. Provides financial grants and structured support to academic founding teams.
• Lean Startup Sprint A short validation program that helps founders test and validate their business model with real customers within a few weeks, applying the Lean Startup Build-Measure-Learn methodology to achieve Problem-Solution Fit.
• Startup Now An introductory program for students offering workshops and consulting to develop a first idea into a viable concept, providing an entry point alongside university studies.
• SIB Media Lab Professional media production service offering five formats — Live & Streaming, Video & Content, Podcast & Audio, Photography, Mobile & On Location — for startups and the HWR Berlin community, including pitch videos, crowdfunding clips, podcasts, and event streams. Operated in cooperation with CIC Berlin.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 startups have launched through the SIB portfolio
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The DriverycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025SIB relocated in January 2025 to The Drivery at Ullsteinhaus Berlin — a global ecosystem for mobility innovation. Co-location includes dedicated spaces for founding teams, prototyping and multimedia lab. The Drivery provides a broader innovation network complementing SIB's startup support.
• encourageventures / FemaleCapitalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 December 2024encourageventures launched the FemaleCapital initiative with Berlin Senate support, training Berlin women as investors and connecting them with female founders. SIB participates through hosting Pitch Night events at Ullsteinhaus and supporting BSS Women teams in investor matching.
• IHK Berlin (Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Cooperation with IHK Berlin for mentoring and business support. Christina Lüdtke from IHK Berlin is listed as a startup advisor and mentor providing funding, marketing, and network guidance.
• Berlin PartnerminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Strategic partnership with Berlin Partner for business development and startup ecosystem integration. Berlin Partner is a Berlin state agency supporting business location and innovation.
• University of Applied Sciences for Engineering and Economics (FHTW Berlin)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Jointly built a network of business mentors for women founders with FHTW Berlin. Both universities of applied sciences cooperate to provide regular networking events for participants and mentors.
• Berlin University of Applied Sciences (BHT Berlin)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Cooperates in the joint mentor network for women founders alongside FHTW Berlin and SIB. Part of the UAS network providing mentorship and networking for female founding teams.
• BIT6 Network of Berlin Universities of Applied SciencesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Network of founding centers of Berlin's universities of applied sciences, united in the BIT6 network. Concentrates key entrepreneurship activities from the academic environment in Berlin's innovation centers.
• CIC Berlin (Cambridge Innovation Center)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 March 2019SIB's primary physical location at Lohmühlenstraße 65. CIC Berlin is an international innovation campus where startups, academia, and industry meet. SIB co-locates with CIC to provide co-working spaces, labs, and a network environment for founders.
• HWR Berlin (Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin)coreOthers · 22 March 2019SIB is the Gründungszentrum (Founders' Center) of HWR Berlin. The university provides academic mentors, scientific oversight, a pipeline of student founders, and administrative/legal framework. Parent institution is a public university (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts) with over 11,500 students.
• Siemens AG / Siemens Real EstateminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership to establish A32 Entrepreneurs Forum Berlin Siemensstadt — a former Siemens factory hall converted into an entrepreneurship hub. Opened March 2019 with joint presence of HWR Berlin, Siemens AG, and Berlin government officials.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• The Drivery: Global mobility innovation ecosystem and SIB's co-location partner at Ullsteinhaus since January 2025. Hosts and supports mobility startups through corporate partnerships, partially overlapping with SIB's incubator offering on the mobility/cleantech vertical.
• SAP.iO Foundry Berlin: Corporate startup program of SAP focused on B2B SaaS partnerships/investments at the Berlin location. Adjacent to SIB's mobility-anchored Ullsteinhaus co-location with The Drivery, illustrating the corporate incubation model SIB does not pursue.

Regional players

• Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie: Berlin's state business development and innovation agency. While not a university incubator, it co-funds and channels the same ESF+ and Land Berlin scholarship programs and refers founders between its programs and SIB.

Direct peers

• BHT Berlin Gründungszentrum (Beuth University): Gründungszentrum of Berliner Hochschule für Technik (BHT Berlin), a BIT6 partner coordinating mentor networks for women founders with SIB, FHTW, and itself. Directly competes for women-founders cohorts and ESF+ funding.
• HTW Berlin Gründungszentrum: Entrepreneurship center of HTW Berlin, another Berlin University of Applied Sciences and BIT6 network member. Operates its own scholarship, mentoring, and incubation programs for student and external founders, with overlapping government funding sources.
• TU Berlin Startup Unit / Centre for Entrepreneurship: Berlin's largest technical university's entrepreneurship center, running EXIST, scholarship and accelerator programs. A major direct competitor for academic founders and a key counterpart within the same city's startup ecosystem.
• Humboldt Innovation (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin): Gründungszentrum of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and a fellow BIT6 network member. Provides incubation, EXIST coordination, and scholarship programs for academic founders in Berlin, directly competing for the same BSS/EXIST public funding pool.

Broad incumbents

• Founder Institute Berlin: Global pre-seed accelerator running cohort programs in Berlin for idea- and early-stage founders. Comparable in target founder stage and methodology, but operates as a paid, equity-applicable program rather than a publicly funded entity.
• NUMA Berlin (NUMA): International incubator/accelerator with a Berlin site running cohort-based programs for early-stage startups. Comparable in offering (co-working, mentoring, events) but operates commercially and is not university-affiliated.

Others

• IHK Berlin (Industrie- und Handelskammer Berlin): Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Not an incubator itself, but supplies mentors (e.g., Christina Lüdtke) to SIB and provides founder support services that partly substitute for what SIB offers, positioning IHK as an ecosystem peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Gruendungszentrum.hwr.berlin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/startup-incubator-berlin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Startup Incubator Berlin