Start-up services

The start-up landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia provides a range of services for business founders. An overview is available here for you to find out more.

  • Logo of the GRÜNDUNGSSTIPENDIUM NRW and two people in front of a laptop

    Gründungsstipendium NRW

    A year of support for your business start-up: advice, contacts and a grant of 1200 euros per month for a maximum of one year.

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  • Logo of the Meistergründungsprämie

    Master Craftswoman/Craftsman Start-up Bonus: Investment cost subsidy for craft in North Rhine-Westphalia

    North Rhine-Westphalia is helping craft start-ups in a variety of ways. A proven funding instrument, newly established in 2021, is the Master Craftswoman/Craftsman Start-up Bonus, known as the MGP.

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  • A woman showing something on a screen, a man sitting next to her

    Business consulting program North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) (This content is only available in German.)

    Das Beratungsprogramm Wirtschaft NRW bietet Beratungskostenzuschüsse für Ihre Gründung. Insgesamt 17,3 Millionen Euro Fördermittel stehen zur Verfügung.

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  • Logo of Startercenter NRW

    STARTERCENTER NRW

    Startercenter NRW offers start-up help to ensure that your first steps on the path to self-employment are successful: advice and information on business formations and company development are available at over 70 locations statewide.

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  • Scale up.NRW – Empowering Pioneers

    Scale-up.NRW

    The scaling up programme helps fast-growing start-ups address the particular requirements for rapid and international scaling.

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  • Four people standing in an office are looking on a laptop screen

    HIGH-TECH.NRW: Unterstützung für High- & Deep-Techs (This content is only available in German.)

    Der Accelerator unterstützt hochtechnologische Start-ups und Spin-offs aus der Wissenschaft, sogenannte Deep-Techs, bei der Vernetzung mit Partnern, Industrie und Investoren in einem maßgeschneiderten und praxisorientierten Programm.

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  • Four people giving each other a high five

    DWNRW Hubs

    North Rhine-Westphalia wants to create even more enthusiasm around digital start-ups in the future. The NRW state government is aiming to increase the appeal of digital start-ups and spin-offs. This is designed to help build a start-up scene that tops the rankings both nationally and internationally.

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  • Logo of the Exzellenz Start-up Center.NRW

    Exzellenz Start-up Center.NRW

    Excellent research should also lead to excellent start-ups. To make sure it does, the state has set up the Exzellenz Start-up Centers.NRW, which are based in outstanding research locations in North Rhine-Westphalia.

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  • Logo of the Wirtschafts-Service-Portal.NRW

    Wirtschafts-Service-Portal NRW

    Run commercial advertisements around the clock and from anywhere: carry out your administrative procedures completely digitally with the Wirtschafts-Service-Portal NRW.

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  • Logo of startups.nrw

    startups.nrw: all start-ups, investors and hubs under one roof

    The portal startups.nrw brings together more than 1,600 start-ups in North Rhine-Westphalia in a central database. Its purpose is to provide a clearer overview of the North Rhine-Westphalia start-up ecosystem and to improve networking between start-ups, businesses, investors and digital hubs.

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  • Settlement for humans on another planeten with view on the earth in the background.

    ESA BIC NRW (This content is only available in German.)

    Raumfahrtbezogene Start-ups (jünger als fünf Jahre) mit Firmensitz in NRW haben seit 2022 die Möglichkeit, nach einer erfolgreichen Bewerbung in das ESA Business Incubation Centre Nordrhein-Westfalen (ESA BIC NRW) aufgenommen zu werden.

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