TheIncubatorPro
List your programme
List your programme

Pitch competition · Dortmund, Germany

start2grow

A nationwide German business plan competition for digital and technology B2B startups, run from Dortmund. The ten best plans share EUR 94,000, with EUR 40,000 for first place, and coaching is free throughout.

Open · closes 11 Jan 2027 Run by Wirtschaftsförderung Dortmund

Apply on the programme's site Programme website

Verified 19 October 2026 · From the programme's own pages

Terms

Funding
€40,000 EUR 94,000 in total: EUR 40,000 first, EUR 20,000 second, EUR 10,000 third and EUR 2,000 each for places 4 to 10. For the top three, half is paid at once and half only if the company is founded with its head office in Dortmund within twelve months of the final
Instrument
Prize
Equity taken
None (equity-free)
Programme fee
No fee Taking part is free
Duration
not published
Cohort size
not published
Cohorts
not published
Delivery
not published
Stages
Idea, pre-seed
Sectors
B2B SaaS
Open to founders from
Germany
Perks
  • Coaches and mentors through the online coaching area
  • Written feedback from reviewers, with an optional feedback call
  • Workshops, talks and events

Business plans are due by 12:00 noon on 11 January 2027. A separate EUR 10,000 TechnologieZentrumDortmund special prize is paid in services, not cash, and is tied to settling in Dortmund.

Application dates

Open · closes 11 Jan 2027

Who can apply

  • Prospective founders and young startups from anywhere in Germany building scalable B2B products or services
  • Only business plans with a technological or digital business model are assessed
  • Business plan uploaded to the online coaching area by the deadline
  • The best twenty teams must pitch to the jury in Dortmund to be ranked
  • Stage: idea, pre-seed

What founders should check

  1. The programme says it takes no equity. Still read the agreement for warrants, revenue shares or rights in a later round.
  2. It charges no programme fee.
  3. It does not say whether it runs in person or remotely. Ask before you plan a move.
  4. Applications are open until 11 January 2027.

Similar pitch competitions

Other pitch competitions that share a sector with start2grow or run in Germany.

Pitch competition · Phoenix, United States

Arizona Innovation Challenge

A business plan competition run by the Arizona Commerce Authority for young startups with early revenue. Awardees get US$100,000 of non-dilutive funding and three months of support from a partner organisation.

US$100k prize · equity not published

Closed

Pitch competition · New York, United States

NYU Entrepreneurs Challenge

NYU's six-month startup programme and venture competition: a selective Studio of workshops and coaching, then pitches in three tracks. Each track winner receives a US$75,000 seed investment on a SAFE.

US$75k invested · equity not published

Open · closes 8 Nov 2026

Pitch competition · Berlin, Germany

Businessplan-Wettbewerb Berlin-Brandenburg (BPW)

A free business plan competition for founders in Berlin and Brandenburg. Plans go in over three phases with written jury feedback, and the best concept in each phase wins EUR 10,000 to EUR 20,000.

€20k prize · equity-free

Open · closes 10 Nov 2026

Pitch competition · Munich, Germany

EIT Health Catapult

A competition and training programme for European life sciences and health tech start-ups. Finalists pitch to investors at the EIT Health flagship event for EUR 30,000 per category.

€30k prize · equity not published

Status unknown

Pitch competition · Berlin, Germany

Falling Walls Lab

A global network of three-minute pitch competitions for students, researchers and early-career innovators. About 100 Lab winners a year go on to the Global Finale in Berlin each November.

Funding not published · equity not published

Opens 1 Feb 2027

Pitch competition · Munich, Germany

Münchener Businessplan Wettbewerb

A three-phase business plan competition for founders in southern Bavaria, run by BayStartUP. Every entry gets written jury feedback, and winners of each phase share prize money from the Bavarian competitions' EUR 85,000 pool.

Funding not published · equity not published

Closed

Run this programme?

Send us your next dates and terms and we will update the listing from your own pages, free.

How listing works