International Women* Space

What International Women* Space does

International Women* Space (IW*S), legally registered as International Women* Space e.V., is a self-organized feminist, anti-racist political association headquartered in Berlin-Kreuzberg, Germany. The organization originated from the 2012 refugee movement at Oranienplatz and the subsequent women-only occupation of the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Schule; it was officially registered as an eingetragener Verein (e.V.) in 2017 and has been operating continuously for over a decade. Its mission centers on creating safe, self-determined spaces for refugee, migrant, BIPoC, and queer FLINTA* women to advocate for their needs, document their experiences, and organize politically around migration, asylum, racism, and gender-based violence.

The organization's core outputs are documentation and community programming rather than software products. Its content library comprises eight published books (including "In Our Own Words" 2015, "We Exist, We Are Here" 2018, "Als ich nach Deutschland kam" 2019/second edition 2025, and "Resilient Voices Vol 1" 2025), the IW*S Radio podcast series, the Kämpfer*innen art/documentation project, the Baustelle Migration open archive, and the Lager Reports on camp conditions. Complementary programs include the Break Isolation peer support group, monthly legal advice clinics, German language classes, poetry slam nights, and annual demonstrations on 8 March (International Women's Day) and 25 November (Day to Combat Violence Against Women). Conference content is delivered across six languages: German, English, Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

The business model is that of a small community-funded non-profit. Revenue streams include individual donations (bank transfer and PayPal), restricted project grants (e.g., ILGA Europe underwriting Resilient Voices), membership dues, and book sales through an in-house e-commerce storefront at iwspace.de/shop with solidarity-tier pricing (€5 low income, €10 standard, €15 solidarity). The organization qualifies as a small business under §19 (1) UStG and does not charge value-added tax. Distribution is global online and regional across Germany via book readings at cultural venues; the ~5-person team operates from a single Berlin office and is governed by a board (Jane Njeri Kamau, Celine Barry, Helen Laura Gimber since December 2023) with founder Denise Garcia Bergt serving as initiator.

Name

International Women* Space

Legal name

International Women* Space e.V.

Website

https://iwspace.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

International Women* Space is a Berlin-based, self-organized feminist and anti-racist non-profit association serving refugee, migrant, BIPoC, and queer FLINTA* women through documentation (books, podcasts, archives), peer support, legal advice, German classes, and annual political demonstrations, funded by donations, grants, membership dues, and book sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Advocacy Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

Keywords

• Feminist advocacy services
• Refugee support services
• Community organizing services
• Documentary book publishing
• Asylum rights advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Sale of published books documenting refugee and migrant women's stories including 'In Our Own Words', 'We Exist, We Are Here', 'Als ich nach Deutschland kam', and 'Resilient Voices Vol 1'. Books sold at tiered pricing (€5 low income, €10 standard, €15 solidarity)
2. Donations: Direct donations from individuals via bank transfer (Berliner Sparkasse) or PayPal. Organization emphasizes that 'no strings attached' financial donations are very important as they allow flexibility to cover day-to-day operational costs that are difficult to cover with project funding
3. Membership/Association: Registered as 'International Women* Space e.V.' association (registered 2017). Members include migrant and refugee women and non-migrant women as part of the political group structure

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

International Women* Space is a self-organized feminist, anti-racist political group based in Berlin that provides advocacy, peer support, and documentation services for refugee and migrant women. The organization publishes books and poetry collections, produces a podcast (IW*S Radio), runs support groups such as Break Isolation Group, and offers workshops, German language classes, and legal advice referrals to refugee and migrant women navigating the German asylum system.

Product overview

International Women* Space is a feminist, anti-racist political organization in Berlin that does not offer a software product but rather provides advocacy services and publishes documentation. Their core offerings include book publications documenting refugee and migrant women's stories (In Our Own Words, We Exist We Are Here, Als ich nach Deutschland kam), the Resilient Voices poetry collection, the IW*S Radio podcast series, video documentaries, the Break Isolation Group support service, Lager Reports documenting camp conditions, the Kämpfer*innen art project, the Baustelle Migration archive, BIPoC Ukraine support services, and a comprehensive Safeguarding Policy Framework. These products and services work together to document experiences of refugee and migrant women, provide peer support, advocate for rights, and create spaces for voices to be heard.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Break Isolation Group: By refugee women, for refugee women - support and community group
• Resilient Voices
• Lager Reports
• BIPoC Ukraine
• IW*S Radio
• KÄMPFERINNEN*
• Als ich nach Deutschland kam
• WE EXIST, WE ARE HERE
• IN OUR OWN WORDS

Products and services

• In Our Own Words / In unseren eigenen Worten Book documenting the lives and stories of women who have fought difficult realities, containing testimonials of refugee women in Germany. Available at three solidarity price tiers: €5 (Low Income), €10 (Standard), €15 (Soli).
• We Exist, We Are Here / Uns gibt es, wir sind hier Book containing eight stories of refugee women in Germany recounting experiences of trafficking through Libya, fleeing state repression, persecution for activism, and daily fights against racism. Available at €5, €10, or €15 solidarity tiers.
• Resilient Voices Vol. 1 Poetry collection created by the queer working group Resilient Voices, containing 20+ texts by 14 FLINTA*S across 72 pages. Born from Poetry Slam Nights at OYA Bar in Berlin, featuring themes of exile, embodiment, longing, liberation, and resistance against state violence and colonial erasure.
• Als ich nach Deutschland kam (When I Came to Germany) Book published by Unrast Verlag documenting the experiences of women who came to Germany as guest workers, contract workers, migrants, and refugees across multiple generations. Contains transcripts from a 2017 conference.
• IW*S Radio Podcast

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FHXB Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on documentary film 'Die Besetzung der Gerhart-Hauptmann-Schule' about the 2012-2014 squat and refugee protest. The museum has been working to document the history of migration struggles in Germany.
• Unrast VerlagcoreOthersGerman publisher that released 'Als ich nach Deutschland kam' (2019), the book documenting the conference proceedings with perspectives from women across multiple generations of migration to Germany
• The Voice / The CaravancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRefugee self-organization networks that IW*S worked closely with during the Oranienplatz movement and ongoing advocacy work. The Caravan's slogan 'We are here because you destroyed our lands' reflects shared values.
• Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork that documents violence against people on the move in Greece. IW*S shares reports from this network through their platform.
• Alliance of Internationalist Feminists BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance formed in Berlin 2015 connecting internationalist feminist groups. IW*S is a founding/organizing member. Coordinates joint demonstrations and advocacy efforts.
• Dest Dan (Kurdish Women's Council Berlin)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKurdish women's organization in Berlin that IW*S collaborates with on solidarity actions including the hunger strike campaign in support of Kurdish political prisoners.
• Flüchtlingsrat BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBerlin Refugee Council organization. IW*S Radio conducted interview with Nora Brezger from Flüchtlingsrat Berlin on BIPoC refugee treatment at Ukraine borders.
• Women in ExilecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing refugee women's self-organization group in Germany. IW*S founder Denise Garcia Bergt had interviewed women from this group for her documentary 'Residenzpflicht'. Shared history of feminist refugee organizing.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• FHXB Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Museum: Cultural and migration archive partner of IW*S that co-developed the Gerhart-Hauptmann-School documentary and Baustelle Migration open archive. Comparable mission of documenting migration history in Berlin, though a museum rather than an advocacy organization.

Emerging players

• ILGA-Europe: European LGBTQ+ federation that funded IW*S's Resilient Voices Vol 1. Overlapping constituency in queer FLINTA* communities and migrant/LGBTQI+ intersectional advocacy, but operating at pan-European rather than local level.

Direct peers

• Dest Dan — Kurdish Women's Council Berlin: Kurdish women's organization in Berlin collaborating with IW*S on solidarity actions including hunger strike campaigns. Directly comparable as a Berlin-based migrant/diaspora women's self-organization.
• Women in Exile & Friends: Long-standing refugee women's self-organization group in Germany with which IW*S shares direct history through founder Denise Garcia Bergt's documentary work. Directly comparable as a feminist refugee-advocacy collective operating in Germany.
• Flüchtlingsrat Berlin: Berlin Refugee Council organization actively partnered with IW*S (interview featured on IW*S Radio). Operates in the same refugee-advocacy space in Berlin with overlapping constituency of asylum seekers and BIPoC refugees.
• DaMigra (Dachverband der Migrantinnenorganisationen): German umbrella association of migrant women's organizations serving refugee, migrant, and BIPoC women across Germany. Comparable mission and beneficiary base as IW*S, with a national rather than Berlin-centric footprint.
• The Voice Refugee Forum: Refugee self-organization network rooted in the Oranienplatz movement alongside IW*S. Directly comparable constituency and political alignment on refugee rights and anti-racism in Germany.
• Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN): Network that documents violence against people on the move in Greece, with reports shared directly through IW*S's platform. Comparable as a documentation-and-advocacy organization focused on migration and border regimes.

Broad incumbents

• Terre des Femmes Germany: Large established German women's rights organization with broader thematic scope but overlapping advocacy on women's rights, violence against women, and migrant women. Comparable as a Berlin/Germany-based feminist advocacy NGO.
• SOLWODI Germany: Established German NGO providing counseling, shelter, and advocacy for women affected by trafficking, forced prostitution, and migration-related exploitation. Broader and more institutional than IW*S but serves a comparable migrant/refugee women constituency in Germany.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iwspace
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCJ-kP1ck3ZjOVGK1D5U7MbA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-women-space
• Facebookfacebook.com/International-Women-Space-1730951927173686
• Instagraminstagram.com/iwspace_de

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 International Women* Space