Until January 25, 2026, founders and Munich startup teams can apply for the SCE Incubation funding program of Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE) at Hochschule München (HM). The SCE Incubation Program combines startup funding, network building, and academic further education, tailored for startups in the pre-founding or early founding phase.
Participation is open to everyone, regardless of education or professional background. International founders are also welcome, as program content is offered bilingually in German and English.
From idea to market-ready product
During the four-month funding phase from April to July 2026, SCE supports participants on their path to founding and offers hands-on support and direct access to experts from the startup scene. Founders benefit from:
- Coaching and workshops on topics such as business model development, pitching, and financing,
- Workspaces and infrastructure at the SCE Innovation Hub,
- Prototype funding for building MVPs or demonstrators,
- Funding check and support with applications for programs such as EXIST, EXIST-Women, FLÜGGE, or AI+Munich,
- Community and network access to mentors, investors, and other startups.
Who can apply?
SCE Incubation is aimed at founders who have already conducted an initial idea validation, such as through customer interviews or prototype testing, and can demonstrate at least 30 potential customers. Another requirement for participation is that at least one team member can be present in Munich during the program and invest around 10 hours per week in the project.
The application process has two stages:
- Online application with questionnaire, pitch deck, and CVs of the founders.
- Interview or workshop phase (Customer Discovery Challenge) for selected teams with subsequent online pitch.
The screening phase starts in February, the summer batch in April 2026. SCE offers a special extra for female founders: in the summer batch, participation in the EXIST-Women funding is also possible.
Participants can also enroll in the startup certificate of Hochschule München and benefit from the close connection between research, entrepreneurship, and practice.
More information and the application form can be found online at www.sce.de/incubation.
