Program Overview

EXIST-Women (EWO) Program

The University of Hamburg has been designated as an EXIST-Women university by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The EXIST-Women program is aimed at women interested in founding a company, particularly in the development of their entrepreneurial personality and the further development of their business idea.

Program Description

The EXIST-Women program offers a 12-month qualification program for company founding, individual coaching through the university's excellent founding network and the Hanseatic City of Hamburg, entrepreneurial support from a mentor, a nationwide network of female founders and a network platform, one-time financial resources of 2,000 (e.g., for coaching, travel costs, or validating the business idea), and an optional 3-month stipend for living expenses.

Target Group

The program is aimed at female graduates, scientists, students (with a bachelor's degree or having completed half of the study achievements), and women with vocational training and a connection to the university who are interested in the topic of founding a company and want to participate in the 12-month qualification program. Participation is also possible while studying or working.

Requirements

A concrete business idea is not required, but participants should be interested in founding a company. Women who have already received funding for founding a company from the federal government or the states are excluded from the program.

Responsibilities

Participants are expected to attend the "Gr𤦂derin" seminar, regularly visit relevant events of the founding network on site, and attend individual counseling sessions with the founding network and their mentor. Participants should also attend the centrally offered founders' forums and network events at the University of Hamburg and the Startup Port.

Program Outcome

At the end of the 12-month qualification program, participants will have gained knowledge about what is important for founding a company and how it works. They will have developed a new, viable business idea or further developed an existing idea and validated the business model. Participants will also have gotten to know other female founders who can share their experiences.

Program Location

The program will take place at the University of Hamburg, with a plan tailored to each participant's needs (online or on-site). Participants will also attend up to four centrally offered EXIST-Women events and meet aspiring female founders from all over Germany.

Selection Process

The selection process involves checking administrative funding requirements, reviewing applications, and selecting participants for interviews. The interviews will be conducted by a selection committee consisting of experts from various fields.

Selection Committee

The selection committee includes:

• Prof. Dr. Anne Lauscher (Data Science)
• Juliane Mietke (Startup Port)
• Prof. Dr. Jan Recker (Business Informatics)
• Prof. Dr. Petra Steinorth (Finance)
• Prof. Dr. Florian Gr𤦂er (Physics)
• Prof. Dr. Simone Neumann (Logistics)
• Lena Weihrauch (Founder of Ai-omatic)

Application Process

Interested women can apply for the EXIST-Women program through an application form. The application process involves:

1. Expressing interest (one-page overview) to the founding consulting service.
2. Feedback from the founding consulting service and preliminary discussions with colleagues from the Management Transfer Lab.

Application Deadline

Applications for the EXIST-Women 2026 program are currently being accepted.