NRW has a new scale-up programme

Starting in spring 2022, the Ministry of Economics wants to support up to 15 start-ups that are already advanced in their corporate development. The focus is particularly on expansion abroad.

The Ministry of Economics in North Rhine-Westphalia is launching a new scale-up program. Ten to 15 start-ups in an advanced stage will be supported by the state in the coming months. The program will run from spring 2022 and will then accompany the scale-ups for the following 18 months. The offer includes, for example, mentoring, exchange and support in entering foreign markets.

Johannes Velling, "Deputy Head of Startups and Digital Impulse, Financing" at the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs writes about the motives on Linkedin: "With the new program, NRW rounds off its extensive support offer for startups in the West. Indeed, the new program addresses one of the points where the NRW startup ecosystem still has potential." He then goes on to explain what he means: "NRW start-ups often still don't succeed enough in scaling up, internationalising and addressing foreign target markets." The new program is intended to change that.

The scale-up program has been able to win the digihub in Düsseldorf and German Entrepreneurship GmbH as partners. The digihub, based in Düsseldorf, is a digital innovation hub and is well networked in the NRW start-up scene. Through German Entrepreneurship GmbH, which also operates the German Accelerator, the company intends to draw on its expertise in NRW, especially when expanding abroad.