BQN - Zentrum für Diversitätskompetenz

What BQN - Zentrum für Diversitätskompetenz does

BQN - Zentrum für Diversitätskompetenz is a Berlin-based, privately funded non-profit organization that has been operating since 2006 under the umbrella of the Berlin braucht dich! initiative. It provides consulting, workshops, and a published library of methodological tools for discrimination-critical and diversity-oriented organizational development. Its primary clients are Berlin's Bezirks- und Senatsverwaltungen, Berlin schools, companies participating in the DiAnker program, and migrant self-organizations (MSOs) partnering through DiFair. Services to public-sector clients are delivered free of charge, funded through project grants from Land Berlin (e.g., for Berlin braucht dich! NEO and Fachstelle DOKE), the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and the European Social Fund Plus (for DiAnker).

The organization does not develop software or hardware products. Its underlying technology consists of an extensive methodology and tool library — including the "Anatomie der Widerstände" resistance diagnostic, the "Diskriminierungskritische Candidate Journey," a six-stage diversity concept roadmap, a handbook for LADG complaint bodies, and various self-assessment and reflection tools — that operationalize German anti-discrimination law (AGG, LADG, PartMigG, PartIntG) and the Berlin Diversity State Program into practical frameworks for HR, organizational development, and service-design processes. The product surface comprises four active projects (Berlin braucht dich! NEO, Fachstelle DOKE, DiFair, DiAnker), a suite of downloadable tools and policy publications, and the DiFair Akademie qualification program.

Revenue mechanics are entirely grant-driven: BQN is publicly funded, with services provided free of charge and no commercial pricing tiers. The go-to-market approach is community-led, sourced through public tendering (Interessenbekundungsverfahren, e.g., for DOKE), government and civil-society referrals within the Berlin Verwaltung network, and demand generation through events such as the WANDELBAR Fachveranstaltung. Distribution is confined to Berlin, with stated ambitions tied to German federal programming through DiAnker and ESF Plus. The organization employs approximately 30 people and is led by Managing Director Marta Gębala.

Name

BQN - Zentrum für Diversitätskompetenz

Legal name

BQN - Zentrum für Diversitätskompetenz

Website

https://bqn-berlin.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BQN - Zentrum für Diversitätskompetenz is a Berlin-based non-profit, founded in 2006, that provides consulting, training, and methodology tools for discrimination-critical organizational development to Berlin's public administration, schools, companies, and civil society organizations, funded through public project grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

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 project grants and government funding: BQN operates as a non-profit organization financed primarily through public project funding. Major projects include Berlin braucht dich! NEO (Land Berlin funding), Fachstelle DOKE (funded under the Berlin Diversity State Program), DiFair (cooperation project with Migrationsrat Berlin), and DiAnker (funded by the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and ESF Plus). Services to public administration clients are provided free of charge.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BQN is a Berlin-based non-profit consulting organization that delivers discrimination-critical and diversity-oriented organizational development services. It advises public administrations, schools, companies, and civil society organizations on implementing anti-discrimination law (LADG, AGG, PartMigG), developing discrimination-critical HR processes, building complaint structures, and improving access to services for migrants and people with migration experience. Services are delivered through consulting, workshops, and an extensive library of practical tools and publications.

Product overview

BQN - Zentrum für Diversitätskompetenz is a Berlin-based organization offering consulting, training, and educational tools for discrimination-critical and diversity-oriented organizational development. The portfolio consists of core consulting services (Beratung & Workshops), four major projects (Berlin braucht dich! NEO for schools and career orientation, Fachstelle DOKE for public administration consulting, DiFair for accessible public services, and DiAnker for corporate continuing education), and an extensive library of downloadable tools and publications covering topics such as discrimination-critical recruitment, candidate journey mapping, organizational self-assessment, LADG complaint procedures, and policy recommendations. The offerings serve public administration, schools, companies, and civil society organizations in Berlin.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Beratung & Workshops Core consulting and workshop offering supporting organizations in designing structures and cultures in a diversity-oriented and discrimination-critical manner. Includes process-oriented consulting, training, and workshops on discrimination-critical organizational development for public administration, schools, companies, and civil society.
• Berlin braucht Dich! NEO Empowerment-oriented project working to reduce inequalities for young people with migration backgrounds and/or racism experiences in schools and the working world, focusing on career orientation, training access, and professional advancement.
• Fachstelle DOKE (Diversitätsorientierte Organisations- und Kompetenzentwicklung) Specialized consulting unit supporting Berlin district and senate administrations in implementing their decentralized diversity initiatives, providing process-oriented consulting and accompaniment for diversity-oriented organizational development.
• DiFair (Gerechter Zugang zu Dienstleistungen für Drittstaatsangehörige) Cooperation project with Migrationsrat Berlin aimed at breaking down structural access barriers in citizen services, social services for children and families, and healthcare for third-country nationals and people with migration experience.
• DiAnker (Diversität und Antidiskriminierung in Weiterbildung verankern) Project supporting companies in integrating diversity and anti-discrimination competencies into their work culture and continuing education structures, applying a social partnership approach involving companies, trade unions, and employer associations.
• DiFair Akademie Qualifizierungsangebote Qualification and training programs providing knowledge and competencies on equal opportunities and equal social participation for people with migration experience, targeting staff in service organizations responsible for anti-discrimination and diversity.

Quantifiable outcome

• In 2020, approximately 33% of newly hired trainees in the Berlin public service had a migration background, roughly matching Berlin's population proportion of 35.6%.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 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.

• Unternehmen, Gewerkschaften und Arbeitgeberverbände (Companies, trade unions, and employers' associations)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The DiAnker project applies a social partnership approach, working hand-in-hand with companies, trade unions, and employers' associations to develop and share best practices for a diversity-sensitive working world. The kick-off on July 8, 2025, brought together all project stakeholders for the first time.
• Migrationsrat Berlin e.V. (Migration Council Berlin)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 January 2024Migrationsrat Berlin is BQN's key cooperation partner in the DiFair project. The project enables exchange and perspective change between public service providers and migrant self-organizations (MSOs) in direct contact with third-country nationals. Both organizations collaborate on identifying barriers to public services and developing solutions for equal access.
• Club Dialog e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClub Dialog e.V. is one of five migrant self-organizations (MSOs) cooperating in the DiFair project. MSOs contribute expertise by providing insights into central challenges at service delivery points, participating in dialogue rounds between MSOs and service providers, and co-publishing political statements.
• Sources-d'Espoir e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSources-d'Espoir e.V. is a migrant self-organization cooperating in the DiFair project. It brings community expertise and participates in dialogue rounds and joint political statements.
• Al-Huleh e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAl-Huleh e.V. is a migrant self-organization cooperating in the DiFair project, contributing expertise on service access challenges faced by people with migration experience.
• Kurdisches Zentrum e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKurdisches Zentrum e.V. is a migrant self-organization cooperating in the DiFair project, contributing community expertise to the project's dialogue and advocacy work.
• Feministisches Zentrum für Migrant*innen e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeministisches Zentrum für Migrant*innen e.V. is a migrant self-organization cooperating in the DiFair project, contributing intersectional feminist expertise on service access and discrimination.
• MINA-Leben in Vielfalt e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMINA-Leben in Vielfalt e.V. participated in a focus group with BQN to discuss challenges for third-country nationals' access to services and the needs of migrant self-organizations, contributing to the DiFair Academy's program development.
• CUSBUminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCUSBU participated in a focus group with BQN to gather insights on service access barriers for third-country nationals and the needs of migrant self-organizations.
• Arbeiterwohlfahrt Landesverband Berlin e.V. Fachstelle Integration & MigrationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe AWO Landesverband Berlin participated in a focus group contributing to the DiFair Academy's needs assessment. The AWO also receives in-house trainings from the DiFair Academy.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Antidiskriminierungsverband Deutschland (advd): Federal association of German anti-discrimination counseling offices and NGOs, providing training, advocacy, and quality standards for anti-discrimination work — overlapping strongly with BQN's discrimination-critical OD methodology.
• Each One Teach One (EOTO) e.V. Berlin anti-discrimination community organization providing empowerment, education, and counseling for People of Color and other marginalized groups, sharing BQN's discrimination-critical lens and Berlin non-profit profile.
• i,dutti GmbH: Berlin-based diversity and inclusion consultancy providing training, audits, and strategy work to public and private organizations, comparable to BQN in service offerings but operating as a commercial (for-profit) entity.
• Minor – Projektkontor für Bildung und Forschung: Berlin-based non-profit focused on diversity education, migration pedagogy, and discrimination-critical organizational development, serving schools, public administration, and civil society — directly comparable to BQN in mission, geography, and target customers.
• Reachout Berlin: Berlin-based counseling and empowerment organization supporting victims of right-wing violence and discrimination, sharing BQN's community-grounded, anti-discrimination mission and Berlin non-profit footprint.
• Charta der Vielfalt e.V. Germany-wide corporate diversity network promoting diversity and inclusion in companies, offering audits, training, and consulting — overlaps with BQN's consulting and training services but with a stronger corporate/private-sector focus.

Regional players

• Aktion Zivilcourage e.V. Saxony-based non-profit delivering diversity education, anti-discrimination training, and democratic culture programs, sharing BQN's training and methodology development focus but operating in eastern Germany rather than Berlin.
• IQ Consult GmbH (formerly IQ Consultancy): European diversity and inclusion consultancy delivering training and strategy across Europe, comparable to BQN's consulting and training services but operating commercially across multiple EU countries.
• Eine Welt Forum Berlin e.V. Berlin-based umbrella network for development policy and migration-related civil society organizations, supporting capacity-building among MSOs — comparable to BQN's empowerment of migrant self-organizations and facilitation role.

Broad incumbents

• Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes (Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency): Federal government institution providing advice, research, and policy on anti-discrimination in Germany — broader mandate and authority than BQN but addresses overlapping problem space and frequently contracts external experts for capacity-building.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bqn_berlin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bqn-berlin-e-v-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about BQN - Zentrum für Diversitätskompetenz