AVGS, Gründungszuschuss & Business Plan in Kassel

The Jobcenter Kassel is the joint institution (gemeinsame Einrichtung) of the City of Kassel and the Agentur für Arbeit, responsible for ALL Bürgergeld recipients within the city. Main office: Kölnische Straße 35, 34117 Kassel, Tel. 0561 701-0, service hotline 0800 4 5555 00 (nationwide, toll-free). Important: Kassel is an independent city (kreisfreie Stadt) — for the surrounding district, the Jobcenter Landkreis Kassel is responsible, not the Jobcenter Kassel.

The IHK Kassel-Marburg (Kurfürstenstraße 9, 34117 Kassel, founder consulting: 0561 7891-0) — a full Chamber of Industry and Commerce serving Kassel and North Hesse — is the responsible body for commercial start-ups. For craft-trade start-ups, the Handwerkskammer Kassel (Scheidemannplatz 2, 34117 Kassel) is responsible. Alternatively: BAFA-listed consultants such as Business Start EU — we issue the qualified expert opinion directly and save you the waiting time for a chamber appointment.

As the development bank of Hesse, WIBank supports founders with, among others: the Hessen-Mikrodarlehen (a micro-loan of €3,000 up to €35,000, term up to 7 years, financing up to 100% of eligible investment and working-capital costs with no standard bank collateral required — suitable for small foundings and business takeovers in Hesse) and Hessen-Kapital / the Gründungs- und Mittelstandsförderprogramm Hessen (equity and mezzanine financing for growth ventures). Nationally in addition: the KfW ERP-Gründerkredit StartGeld (up to €200,000, of which up to €80,000 for working capital; 80% KfW liability release, raised from €125,000 on 1 December 2025). The Kasseler Sparkasse supports KfW applications and house-bank financing.

Yes, absolutely. Business Start EU (BAFA ID: 205985), based in Heidelberg, supports founders from Kassel and North Hesse online — with flexible scheduling and no waiting for in-person appointments. Online consultation is officially recognized as equivalent to in-person consultation (BAFA funding-consulting guideline).

Yes. The UniKasselTransfer incubator (UNIKAT, "mehr unternehmen") of the University of Kassel is the central point of contact for university start-ups — from idea to founding, with one-on-one Gründungsberatung, EXIST application coaching, entrepreneurial workshops and a business-plan competition. It is based at the Science Park Kassel on the university campus — the region's central founder and innovation centre, offering co-working desks, incubator space and the CoCreationLab for early-stage teams (around 40 start-ups on site). Research-driven founders also connect to the Fraunhofer IEE (energy-system research) and the university's environment, energy and IT clusters.

The Gründungszuschuss (§ 93 SGB III) is for ALG I recipients and is applied for at the Agentur für Arbeit — up to 15 months of funding. The Einstiegsgeld (§ 16b SGB II) is for Bürgergeld recipients and is applied for at the Jobcenter — up to 24 months, plus a potential investment cost subsidy up to €5,000.

Yes. Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland enjoy freedom of establishment and need no special permit to become self-employed in Germany. Founders from other countries generally need a German residence permit that allows self-employment (Aufenthaltserlaubnis zur selbständigen Tätigkeit, § 21 AufenthG) — and a convincing, bank-ready business plan is central to that application, which is exactly what we prepare with you. Note that public benefit-based funding (AVGS, Gründungszuschuss, Einstiegsgeld) requires that you are already drawing the corresponding German benefit. In Kassel, the University of Kassel's international community and the Science Park Kassel provide an entry point for internationally minded founders. Our consultation is fully available in English and remote.