ESF Plus Guideline Gender Equality in Working Life 2021–2027 – B – Female Founders' Bonus
Funding for female founders in Saxony: Support for living expenses, social insurance costs, and a child bonus to reduce barriers to founding a business.
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Grant criteria
Funding objective
The Free State of Saxony supports adult female founders with specific start-up barriers in their business establishment with funds from the European Social Fund (ESF) Plus. Grants are provided for living expenses, social insurance, and an additional child bonus to facilitate economic independence.
Eligible to apply
- Founders
Funding requirements
- Adult female person residing in Saxony
- Specific founding obstacles (e.g., personal migration experience, single parenthood, career re-entry, caregiving relatives, below-average income, or socially-oriented founding)
- Proof of knowledge and skills in business founding and management
- At the time of application, no founding must have taken place yet (exception: transition from secondary to primary occupation)
- Students as well as employees of universities, vocational academies, and research institutions are not eligible for funding
Documents required for application
- Business concept (business plan with economic key figures)
- Curriculum vitae
- Endorsing statement from an expert body
Evaluation criteria
- Proof of expertise and business management
- Presence of special start-up obstacles
- Economic viability of the business concept
Description
The ESF Plus funding program guideline Equality in Working Life 2021–2027 – Part B: Founder’s Bonus is aimed at adult founders residing in Saxony who face particular challenges when starting a business. The goal is to promote entrepreneurial self-employment and reduce barriers to founding a company. By providing grants for living expenses, covering social security costs, and an additional child bonus, a basic financial security is established to facilitate the path to self-employment. Recognized barriers include, for example, personal migration experiences, single-parent situations, returning to work, caregiving responsibilities, below-average income, or a focus on socially-oriented business concepts.
The project spans a period of 15 months with a total funding amount of €14,520. In the first six months, in addition to a grant for living expenses, financial resources are provided to support social security costs, while in the following nine months, grants for social contributions continue to be paid. Additionally, a child bonus is granted if a dependent child lives in the household, which particularly serves to better reconcile entrepreneurial activity with family obligations. The application is submitted electronically via the portal of the Saxon Development Bank – Förderbank, requiring a meaningful business concept including economic key figures, a CV, and a supporting statement from a recognized expert institution.
This funding offer represents an important contribution to strengthening the economic independence of founders in Saxony. Through targeted support, structural barriers are dismantled and the chances of a successful business start-up are improved. This promotes not only personal but also social participation by improving the framework conditions for those who have so far suffered from particular founding obstacles. This program lays the foundation for sustainable business development, ultimately contributing to a more balanced economic landscape and social inclusion in the regional economy.