Women's power in start-up activities: New scholarship for female founders in Hesse!

Women's power in start-up activities: New scholarship for female founders in Hesse!

With its new scholarship program for female start-up teams, the “Hessen Ideas” initiative has taken a significant step towards promoting female entrepreneurship in Hesse. How uni-kassel.de reports, the program was recently launched by Timon Gremmels, the Hessian Minister for Science and Research, Art and Culture. Gremmels emphasizes the outstanding role of diversity for innovation and the need to promote women in business, science and society.

In this round of scholarships, five teams made up of at least 50 percent women will have access to valuable resources, including financial support, qualification formats, mentoring and networks. The new female scholarships symbolize progress in the German startup ecosystem, where the proportion of female founders has fallen to less than 19 percent.

Funding details

The Hessen Ideas Scholarship supports students and graduates in a six-month program and offers significant help in realizing business ideas. Beneficiaries can receive up to 2,500 euros per month, combined with a comprehensive accelerator program that includes coaching and workshops.

The funded teams at the University of Kassel are working on innovative solutions in various areas such as mental health and digital medicine. The funded teams include the **Gradu-App**, an AI-powered STEM learning app to support students, and **study-well social**, a platform that connects learning with mental health. The initiative impressively shows how the state of Hesse, the Hessian universities and companies work together to strengthen female entrepreneurship.

Challenges and opportunities for female founders

The initiative is part of a broader trend in Germany and Europe, where the proportion of women starting up rose from 15.9 percent to 17.7 percent between 2019 and 2021, as das-wissen.de reported. Despite this positive development, inequalities persist, particularly in terms of founding conditions and public perception.

An important factor that influences women's ability to start businesses is the balance between work and family, which is often a major hurdle. According to that de-hub.de Many female founders have difficulty obtaining preferred financing options - only 7.7 percent were able to attract venture capital and business angels. This highlights the need for funding programs such as “Hessen Ideas”, which aim to lower the hurdles for women and increase the visibility of female founders.

In summary, it can be said that the “Hessen Ideas” initiative is not only an answer to the challenges that women face in entrepreneurship, but also an opportunity to effectively support and promote female entrepreneurship in Hesse. The state of Hesse is investing a total of 5.4 million euros in this promising initiative by 2025.