Entrepreneurship Talent Academy (ETA)

The Entrepreneurship Talent Academy (ETA) of the Foundation of German Business is aimed at upper secondary school students from Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, and Saxony who are no older than 20 years by the application deadline. Over the course of six months, the program offers numerous impulses in the areas of education, training, and business start-up. Guided by experienced mentors, participants learn creative methods such as Design Thinking and Gamification and apply them in interactive workshops. This creates space for innovative teamwork, where participants discover, further develop, and prototypically test their own business ideas. The combination of practical lectures, digital tools, and peer learning fosters entrepreneurial thinking beyond traditional school formats.

The goal of the ETA is to awaken the entrepreneurial spirit early, reflect on individual strengths, and open up perspectives for implementing one’s own projects. The program imparts technical fundamentals on financing, market analysis, and business plan development, as well as soft skills such as presentation and communication competence. Participants benefit from exchanges with start-up founders and experts in corporate financing. The funding is aimed at individuals who actively engage with career orientation and wish to prepare for the step into self-employment. Since the current application phase has already closed, new admission periods are expected to open in summer 2026. Interested upper secondary school students can then apply again for this practice-oriented program and further deepen their entrepreneurial skills.