ESCP Business School Berlin was awarded the EXIST-Potentiale grant for its startup support concept ESCP BESTPlace. The aim is to expand the entrepreneurship potential of ESCP and develop incubation activities to support startups in their internationalization efforts. Matthias Mrozewski represented the Jean-Baptiste Say Institute during the award ceremony at BMWi, the federal ministry for economic affairs and energy.
Starting in 2020, ESCP will set up an internationalization school, which is supposed to hold general as well as country-specific courses and workshops, offers international team matching and alumni angel nights. We will support founders directly by providing them with a co-working and office spaces, consulting and hosting country-specific ecosystem events. Moreover, we will create an internationalization network with other leading universities for start-ups.
EXIST-Potentiale is a Germany-wide funding measure by the BMWi for universities. The aim of the measure is to implement a start-up culture in universities and to create the necessary framework to support innovative and high-growth science start-ups. In total, 220 applications were submitted by different universities all around Germany, including private and public institutions. Expert juries evaluated the submitted project proposals and selected the best concepts in three categories for start-up funding from the Economic Affairs Ministry.