EXIST Business Start-up Grant
These requirements are necessary:
Requirement 1
✓ Your company has not been founded yet.
✓ Your project is innovative and knowledge or technology oriented.
✓ Your project offers an innovative knowledge-based service or a product based on scientific findings.
Requirement 2
✓ You are a scientist from a public, non-profit, non-university research institution or higher education institution.
✓ You have graduated from a higher education institution or worked as a research associate (up to 5 years after graduation or leaving the position).
✓ You are currently studying and have completed at least half of your studies (in terms of credit points) at the time of application.
Special cases for teams:
- Your team may consist of a maximum of 3 members.
- Your team can also be funded if one team member has a state-recognised vocational qualification.
- A team member may have graduated more than 5 years ago.
- Teams that are made up of a majority of students are only funded in exceptional cases.
We support you with:
✓ Validating the innovative business idea
✓ Composing your team
✓ Selecting a mentor from the University of Potsdam
✓ Assisting with the application, including the 25-page idea paper
✓ Organizing the project’s implementation (e.g. payment of the grants, procurement processes, etc.)
✓ Identifying and selecting follow-up funding opportunities (e.g. Gründung Innovativ, Brandenburger Innovationsfachkräfte)
✓ Facilitating the participation in trade fairs in Germany and Europe
The Startup Service offers you additional benefits:
✓ Office and meeting space at Campus Griebnitzsee or Golm
✓ Personal support
✓ Exchange with other EXIST teams in the monthly EXIST-Jour Fixe
✓ Networking opportunities with network partners and investors