ROCkET EMPOWERing Female EntrepreneurS

Project background

The proportion of women in business start-ups in Germany is significantly lower than their share of the population. A significant proportion of the start-up potential available in Germany is therefore not yet being exploited. The aim of exist Women is to support women at universities and research institutions who are interested in starting a business and have an affinity for entrepreneurship in the phase prior to founding a company, particularly in the development of their entrepreneurial personality and the further development of their start-up idea. The program is aimed at women who are already pursuing a specific start-up topic as well as those who would like to identify a suitable start-up idea during the funding phase. Funding is open to all topics and technologies.

Project objective

exist Women aims to help encourage women to venture into entrepreneurial independence and increase the proportion of women as managing directors and shareholders of innovative start-ups.

Project procedure

From 01.03.2026 to 31.12.2026, the ROCkETempowers participants will receive continuous support in developing their start-up idea from the ROCkET Start-up Center at Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences and individual support from dedicated mentors with a start-up background from the ROCkET start-up network. As part of the ROCkETempowers qualification program, knowledge and methods that are directly applicable to everyday start-up life are taught in practice-oriented workshops. In addition, topic-specific event formats and centrally offered events of the exist Women funding line provide in-depth insights into innovative start-ups.

Innovation

The ROCkETempowers program starts in the pre-start-up phase and supports women interested in starting a business by closely interlinking knowledge-based support from the ROCkET start-up center and practical expertise from the ROCkET mentoring network to develop both their entrepreneurial personality and their start-up idea. The program builds bridges between female founders, universities and research institutions as well as nationwide existing women formats in order to create sustainable ecosystems. In the long term, a higher number of female-led companies increases the innovative strength and diversity of the regional and national economy.