To provide insights into the development of the scholarship recipients and their start-up ideas, the recent closing event focused on individual projects. The participants showed what they had achieved within a year: from initial concepts to refined business models, concrete offerings, and entrepreneurial prospects. The range of projects impressively demonstrated the diversity of female start-up approaches.
Thanks to additional funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, a total of ten women received financial support in 2025. Azie Gertrude Obianuju, Pia Güttner, Maren Oscenda, Lara-Kathrin Piche, Svenja-Christin Voß, Laura Haasler, Britta Schattenberg, Paula Bansmann, Aliya Dilara Arcak, and Jasmin Schockenbaum presented their developments at the closing event and provided insights into the progress of their projects. Together, they demonstrated how diverse and individual the paths in the program can be.
A closer look at some of the ideas and developments
Britta Schattenberg is developing a platform that connects self-publishers with suitable service providers and simplifies the book publishing process. During the program, she refined her concept together with a mentor, gained team members for her idea, and is now focusing in particular on the development of typesetting software. The company is to be founded in the near future.
Paula Bansmann uses carpets as a narrative medium to make memories and identity visible. Thanks to the funding, she was able to set up her own studio and offer her first workshops. Her idea has become more concrete during the program: in the future, she would like to accompany families through a joint design process that results in a unique carpet—a piece of woven history.
Aliya Dilara Arcak worked on an innovative spatial envelope as a retreat to strengthen the nervous system and promote the connection between humans and nature as part of her master's thesis. The scholarship helped her translate this grand vision into initial practical steps. One result of this process is a self-designed book with poetic texts dedicated to the concept of the "fifth skin" and addressing the closeness between humans and space.
Jasmin Schockenbaum is designing "Shuari Education," a digital learning platform for mathematics that uses innovative methods and AI-supported analyses to improve individual learning processes. During her scholarship period, she was named one of the "30 under 30" leading young professionals in the field of education worldwide. In addition to developing the platform, Jasmin Schockenbaum runs a tutoring company and is actively involved in promoting educational equity.
Many of the participants used EXIST-Women to further refine their ideas and better understand their target groups. The focus was not exclusively on the specific start-up, but also on the question of which form of self-employment fits their own life plan. "EXIST-Women gave me the opportunity to find my own path—even if it turned out to be very different from what I had initially imagined," said participant Pia Güttner at the closing event.
A central element of the program was the intensive exchange within the group. In a protected environment, the participants gave each other feedback, shared experiences, and supported each other even in challenging phases. For many, this network proved to be just as valuable as the workshops, coaching sessions, and mentoring formats offered.
What formally ended with the closing event continues to have an impact: eight out of ten participants are actively pursuing their start-up ideas. In addition to the projects, the funding phase strengthened the female founders themselves – in their self-image, their clarity, and their entrepreneurial courage.
For Campus Foundery OWL, EXIST Women underscores the importance of targeted support programs to attract women to entrepreneurial paths at an early stage and make their potential visible.
The next funding round is already being planned: On March 16, the application phase for EXIST Women at TH OWL will begin for women interested in starting a business. The team at the start-up center is looking forward to more diverse ideas.
