Gründungsstipendium NRW

What Gründungsstipendium NRW does

Gründungsstipendium NRW is a state-backed startup grant program of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), operated by the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy (MWIKE NRW) and administered by Projektträger Jülich (PtJ) at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Launched in July 2018 under the "Neue Gründerzeit NRW" initiative with an initial EUR 26 million budget, the program provides a monthly stipend of EUR 1,200 per founder (EUR 1,500 for gender-diverse teams under the April 2025 Diversität+ add-on, paid as a one-time EUR 3,600 supplement) for up to 12 months to early-stage entrepreneurs and teams of up to three founders who have not yet incorporated or have done so within the prior 12 months. Recipients also receive individual coaching and access to the NRW founder ecosystem.

Delivery is decentralized through 36 accredited regional founding networks with 105 contact points, integrating STARTERCENTER NRW, six Digital Hubs (Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Essen, Münster), universities, IHK/HWK chambers, and regional innovation centers such as garage33, Founders Foundation, and STARTPLATZ. Applicants pitch to local juries composed of network representatives. As of May 2025, the program had awarded 4,500 scholarships and recommended 5,423 founders for funding out of 8,241 applicants representing 4,860 startup projects. The program is government-funded with no commercial revenue stream and no equity ownership; continued operation is contingent on NRW state budget allocations, with applications accepted through September 2026.

The entity has no proprietary technology stack, no AI/ML components, and no patents; its core competency is program administration, jury-based selection, and ecosystem orchestration. Program trajectory has been one of steady scale-up, with the 1,000th jury session held in Bonn in March 2024 and a Diversität+ tier launched in April 2025 to address underrepresentation of gender-diverse founding teams.

Name

Gründungsstipendium NRW

Legal name

Gründungsstipendium NRW (Gründungsstipendium.NRW)

Website

https://xn--grndungsstipendium-n6b.nrw

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gründungsstipendium NRW is a state-funded startup grant program of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, providing monthly stipends of EUR 1,200 (EUR 1,500 for diverse teams) and coaching to early-stage founders across NRW, administered by Projektträger Jülich and delivered through 36 regional networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Startup Grant Program

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Startup grant program
• Government startup funding
• Entrepreneur coaching services
• Regional innovation support
• State economic development

Headquarters

HQ city

Jülich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grant Funding: State-funded startup grant program providing monthly stipends to entrepreneurs. The program is funded by the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MWIKE). Applications can be submitted until September 2026.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Gründungsstipendium NRW is a state-funded startup grant program that provides a monthly stipend of 1,200 EUR per founder for up to 12 months (up to three founders per startup), supplemented by individual coaching and access to a regional founding network. Operated by MWIKE NRW and managed by Projektträger Jülich (PtJ), the program targets aspiring and early-stage founders in North Rhine-Westphalia and selects recipients through jury sessions at 36 accredited regional networks.

Product overview

Gründungsstipendium NRW is a unified government funding program offering a monthly stipend for innovative startups. The core product provides 1,200 EUR monthly per person for up to three founders over 12 months, combined with coaching support. An add-on module, Diversität+, extends the offering with an additional 300 EUR monthly supplement specifically for gender-diverse founding teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gründungsstipendium NRW Diversität+: A new component launched April 1, 2025, offering gender-diverse founding teams an additional monthly supplement of 300 EUR (3,600 EUR one-time payment) when they found their company during the scholarship period.

Products and services

• Gründungsstipendium NRW Core monthly stipend program offering 1,200 EUR per founder for up to 12 months (up to three founders per startup) combined with individual coaching and access to regional founding networks across North Rhine-Westphalia. Open to aspiring and early-stage founders (within 12 months of founding) applying via one of 36 accredited networks.
• Gründungsstipendium NRW Diversität+ Add-on supplement for gender-diverse founding teams who establish their company during the scholarship period. Provides an additional 3,600 EUR one-time payment per person, effectively raising monthly support to 1,500 EUR for eligible teams from April 1, 2025.

Quantifiable outcome

• 28.1% female participation among current scholarship recipients
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Projektträger Jülich (PtJ)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerManages the Gründungsstipendium NRW program on behalf of MWIKE NRW. Handles application processing, scholarship payments, and day-to-day operations. Located at Forschungszentrum Jülich.
• 36 Regional Founding NetworkscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAccredited networks across NRW including STARTERCENTER NRW, Digital Hubs, universities, chambers (IHK/HWK), and regional innovation centers. They provide local application support, jury organization, and coaching.
• Anthropia gGmbHminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNew network partner since 2023, focusing on social and sustainable startups. Located at Haniel-Campus in Duisburg-Ruhrort.
• CO_SPACE.DN (WIN.DN)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNew network partner since 2023, based in Düren with modern co-working space and connections to local economy.
• STARTERCENTER der IHK Ostwestfalen zu BielefeldminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProvided startup support for NerdStar including founder consulting and business plan assistance.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau): Germany's federal development bank offering nationwide startup and SME funding programs (e.g., KfW Capital, ERP founder loans). A broad incumbent that operates at federal scale across all German states, including NRW, with programs that touch the same early-stage founder segment.
• High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF): Germany's leading early-stage venture capital fund backed by federal and private investors, providing seed funding to tech startups often downstream of state-level grant programs. A broad incumbent in the same German founder ecosystem that frequently co-invests with or succeeds programs like Gründungsstipendium NRW.
• NRW.BANK: NRW's state development bank that sponsors the program's roadshow prizes and operates adjacent financing instruments (loans, mezzanine) for SMEs and founders. Functions as a broad incumbent enabler in the same regional ecosystem, with portfolio overlap at the founder/stage layer.

Direct peers

• EXIST Gründerstipendium: Federal BMWK startup founder stipend that mirrors Gründungsstipendium NRW's monthly stipend-plus-coaching structure. Same target persona (pre- and early-stage founders) and same grant-based revenue model, making it the closest functional counterpart operating at the federal level rather than state level.

Regional players

• Wirtschaftsagentur Wien: Vienna's public business agency funding and incubating startups with grant instruments and ecosystem programs. Closely comparable to a state-level founder funding program in mechanics and mission, but serving Austria rather than NRW.
• Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie: Berlin's business development agency delivering programs, funding matchmaking, and ecosystem services to founders. Comparable regional player offering state-backed founder support via coaching and connection to capital sources, but for Berlin/Brandenburg rather than NRW.
• BayStartUP: Bavaria's statewide startup support program offering coaching, financing, and investor networks. Comparable mission (regional government-backed early-stage founder support) but operating in a different German state with its own regional network partners and funding sources.
• IFB Hamburg (Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank): Hamburg's state development bank administering innovation and founder funding programs. Provides public-sector founder support via grants, loans, and subsidies in another German state, structurally analogous to the MWIKE/Projektträger Jülich arrangement in NRW.
• Startup BW: Baden-Württemberg's state-level startup initiative with accelerator programs, funding instruments, and ecosystem support. Highly comparable as a regional peer offering multi-stage founder support across the state, just in a different geography.

Others

• STARTERCENTER NRW: NRW's own pre-existing founder advisory program run via the chambers of commerce (IHK/HWK), which the Gründungsstipendium NRW channel partners with and explicitly integrates. Functions as an adjacent enabling/ecosystem participant rather than a direct funder.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GruendenNRW
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gruendungsstipendium-nrw
• Instagraminstagram.com/gruendungsstipendium.nrw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Gründungsstipendium NRW