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Starting a business as a woman

Easy read — 4 sections

Starting a business as a woman

Courageous, well-prepared and full of opportunities

Easy read — 4 sections

Starting a business as a womanIntroduction

Courageous, well-prepared and full of opportunities

As early as 2018, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) [1] found that women are on average more successful with their start-ups than men. They get more than twice as much out of every euro invested. Self-employed women are more flexible, more independent and have opportunities for more responsibility and higher income [2].

April 21, 2026

Contents

Self-employment means self-determination

Self-employment means creating your own workplace that fits exactly with your individual life situation. To be successful, it is all the more important for you as a founder to engage with the right strategies.

Women face structural barriers in self-employment:

  • Less access to capital and fewer investor contacts: Only around 1% of venture capital flows into all-female teams [3] [4].
  • Care work alongside professional work is predominantly undertaken by women, which ties up time and energy.

Here you will find networks and platforms by women for women — they can offset disadvantages and help fill the structural gaps with knowledge and partners.

Support and networks

Bundesweite Gründerinnenagentur (bga): The central service and competence centre with over 2,000 partners offers advice, networking and cross-sector support [5].

Initiative "FRAUEN unternehmen" (BMWK): More than 250 entrepreneurs as role models, webinars, mentoring and public events [6].

EXIST-Women: Funding programme for female academic founders – with mentoring, coaching and grants, also adapted to be family-friendly [7].

WeiberWirtschaft (Berlin): Europe's largest women founders and entrepreneurs centre with microloans, co-working, childcare and a holistic offering [8].

Further networks:

Many programmes offer family-friendly framework conditions – such as grants for childcare or flexible durations [14].

Contact points at a glance

Contact pointOffering
Bundesweite Gründerinnenagentur (bga) [5]Advice, networking, regional partners
Initiative "Frauen unternehmen" (BMWK) [6]Role models, webinars, mentoring, events
EXIST-Women [7]Funding for female academic founders with grants and flexible framework conditions
WeiberWirtschaft (Berlin) [8]Women founders centre with infrastructure, microloans, childcare
Käte Ahlmann Stiftung [15]Mentoring for women entrepreneurs
VdU – Verband deutscher Unternehmerinnen [16]Cross-sector contacts & events
SWANS Initiative [13]Support for young BPoC female academics and founders
GOLDRAUSCH Mikrokredit [17]Microloans €1,000–15,000 for women founders in Berlin
EncourageVentures [18]Non-profit intermediary between diverse-led start-ups and smart money
Grace Accelerator [19]Focus on female and mixed teams

Roadmap for your business launch

StepWhat you can tackle
1. Advice & informationUse bga, EXIST portal, webinars
2. Funding & mentoringCheck WeiberWirtschaft, EXIST-Women, family-friendly options
3. Develop business planUse workshops, business plan templates from IHK or Gründerplattform
4. Plan financingCombine funding, equity capital, work-life balance strategies
5. Visibility & communityUse storytelling, role model function, networks and events

1. Use information and advice services

  • Use bga as a central contact point: advice, coaching, funding check, expert referral – nationwide.
  • The BMWK offers special programmes for women through the EXIST founders portal, including webinars and mentoring.

2. Funding, networks & mentoring

  • Get involved in women founders networks like Businettes [20] or EncourageVentures [21] – there you will find exchange, workshops and pitch events.
  • If you come from research: EXIST-Women supports women founders at universities with coaching, networks and grants.

3. Business plan & founding strategy

  • Sharpen your business idea in business plan seminars or female founders programmes.
  • Templates are available from IHK [22] or [23].
  • According to BCG, women-led start-ups often operate more efficiently: they achieve around 78 cents profit per euro invested, for men it's only 31 cents [24].

4. Plan financing and work-life balance

  • Combine funding, own resources and advice to manage financing questions effectively.
  • GOLDRAUSCH provides microloans between €1,000 and €15,000 for women founders in Berlin.
  • EncourageVentures supports start-ups as sparring partners between diverse-led teams and female smart money.

5. Visibility & sustainable growth

  • Present yourself actively at women founders events and share your story as a role model.
  • More visibility strengthens the community as a whole and opens doors to collaborations [25].

Sources

  1. [1]Boston Consulting Group (BCG) – Why Women Owned Startups
  2. [2]Gründerplattform – Starke Gründerinnen
  3. [3]Bundeswirtschaftsministerium – Frauen in der Wirtschaft
  4. [4]Startupverband – Female Founders Monitor 2025
  5. [5]BGA – Gründerinnenagentur
  6. [6]Frauen unternehmen – BMWK
  7. [7]EXIST – Women Förderprogramm
  8. [8]WeiberWirtschaft – Unterstützung für Gründerinnen
  9. [9]Käte Ahlmann Stiftung – Website
  10. [10]Verband deutscher Unternehmerinnen (VdU) – Website
  11. [11]Gründerinnenzentrale – Website
  12. [12]GründerMütter – Website
  13. [13]SWANS Initiative – Unsere Foerderung
  14. [14]Bundeswirtschaftsministerium – Mehr Unternehmerinnen
  15. [15]Käte Ahlmann Stiftung – Website
  16. [16]VdU – Verband deutscher Unternehmerinnen – Website
  17. [17]GOLDRAUSCH Mikrokredit – Website
  18. [18]EncourageVentures – Website
  19. [19]Grace Accelerator – Grace Berlin Accelerator
  20. [20]Businettes – Website
  21. [21]EncourageVentures – Website
  22. [22]IHK – Businessplan Anleitung 2264218
  23. [23]Gründerplattform – Businessplan
  24. [24]Deutschland Startet – Gründerinnen
  25. [25]DIE WELT – Keine Gründerinnen

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