Rheinpreneur Newcomer Award 2025 Application Form

Rheinpreneur Newcomer Award 2025 Application Form
Dear (Future) Entrepreneur,

Welcome to the Rheinpreneur Newcomer Award 2025! We’re thrilled to kick off the first edition of this exciting journey in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and can’t wait to learn more about you and your innovative business idea!

Please take your time to answer all questions. If you are nominated as a finalist: Your answers to some questions may be published on our social media or website for the public voting and/or in preparation for the award ceremony. For all other applicants: We will only share your answers with the jury for evaluation and will not publish anything without your permission.

Not sure if you or your business idea are eligible for this competition? Have questions about the timings, the jury’s evaluation criteria, or how to fill out this form? We’re here to help!

Please check the FAQs on our website and conditions of participation before starting your application.

Ready to go? Los geht’s!

Tell us about yourself!
Name*

First NameLast Name
Date of birth*

DayMonthYear
Nationality*
The Rheinpreneur Newcomer Award aims to support newcomer entrepreneurs from countries that have historically been economically disadvantaged. The main applicant must therefore have the nationality of one of the countries from the DAC List of ODA Recipients (https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/sub-issues/oda-eligibility-and-conditions/dac-list-of-oda-recipients.html)
Do you hold other nationalities in addition to one on the OECD DAC list? If so, which one(s)?
Email*
example@example.com
Phone Number
How long have you lived in the NRW? (This includes areas like the Ruhr area, Rhineland, Düsseldorf, Cologne, etc.)*

8 years or lessmore than 8 yearsI don't live in NRW
Unfortunately, you cannot participate.
Gender
This optional question about gender identity is to help us understand our community and to tailor our offerings to who is here! With this in mind, please share with us the gender that best describes you:
Are you applying alone or as a team?*

aloneas a team

WHAT’S YOUR BUSINESS IDEA?
What do you call your business idea?*
How would you describe its stage of development?*

It’s in the idea stage and I want to develop it further!I have fully developed my idea, researched the market and am working on or just finished my business plan.I’m in the middle of or done with the founding process, but not on the market yet.I’m completely ready to go on the market, but I am lacking funds and / or the right contacts / networks.I already put my product / service on the market and generate income.
Unfortunately, you cannot participate.
YOUR VIDEO

As part of the application process we ask you to upload a video telling us about yourself. You can upload this video anytime before the deadline.
Please answer these questions with your 2 min video (important - max. 120 seconds long):
- Who Are You?
  We want to get to know you better! Share your story—tell us about yourself, your background, and your journey. Your experience matters!
- Tell us about your startup in 1–2 sentences.
  Tip: Think of your business in a simple, creative way — for example, “It's like a Netflix platform for supporting immigrants, changing narratives through new videos.”
- Your Newcomer & Entrepreneurial Journey
  - What brought you to Germany (if you're comfortable sharing)?
  - What inspired you to start your business and why are you building it?
  - What are some challenges you are faced as a newcomer entrepreneur?
Requirements: max. 2 minutes long, horizontal format (preferably 16:9), mov or mp4, file name = your startup name
(Application deadline is 06.05.25. Applications without a video are not eligible.)
Upload your video here. File name=your startup name. ✨ Not ready to upload your video yet? No worries! Just hit the Save button at the bottom to continue your application later.*

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Your Pitch Deck

As part of the application process we ask you to upload a pitch deck containing the key information about your startup idea. You can upload your pitch deck anytime before the deadline.
Please send us your pitch deck (max. 8 slides) that must include:
- Problem Statement – What problem are you solving?
- Solution Overview – How does your solution address this problem?
- Market Opportunity – Who are your potential customers? What is the market size?
- Key Features of the Product/Service – What makes it unique?
- Social or Environmental Impact – What positive change does your business bring?
- Competitive Analysis – Who are your competitors, and how do you differentiate?
- Financial Projections – What is your revenue model? How will you make money?
- Team – Tell us more about you and/or your team! Who are you? How many of your team are also newcomers to NRW Region? What are their backgrounds and skillsets, and how will you work together?
(Application deadline is 06.05.25. Applications without a pitch deck are not eligible.)
Upload your Pitch Deck here. File name=your startup name. ✨ Not ready to upload your video or pitch deck yet? No worries! Just hit the Save button at the bottom to continue your application later.*

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Rheinpreneur Newcomer Award 2025 Application Form

Tell us about yourself!

WHAT’S YOUR BUSINESS IDEA?

YOUR VIDEO

Your Pitch Deck

BECAUSE WE ARE CURIOUS...