The Ministry for the Environment, Agriculture, Nature and Consumer Protection North Rhine-Westphalia (MULNV NRW) has set itself the goal of strengthening innovative, environmentally-oriented companies in a targeted manner and thus opening up new markets for products and services. The aim is to promote young, environmentally-oriented companies, to initiate start-ups and to make them visible to the public as success stories.

For this, the implementation of a start-up competition and coaching for environmentally-oriented start-ups are to be awarded.

Start-up competition:

With an environmental business start-up competition, young, high-growth companies in the environmental industry in North Rhine-Westphalia are to be promoted and new fields of technology and action to be developed in order to make ecological goals economically usable and to create new, future-oriented jobs.

A business plan competition with a subsequent award is to be carried out for each year of implementation. 3 runs are planned for the entire period of the commissioning.

In the first phase, innovative start-up ideas are to be tracked down, and potential founders are to be motivated and supported in developing their ideas and subjecting them to an initial examination. This includes the following activities:

- Identification and acquisition of actors in whose environment potential founders in the field of environmental economics can be found. The systematic screening and development of start-up networks and milieus is crucial for success;

- First review of business ideas.

In the second phase, potential founders are to be supported in drawing up a business plan. These are to be assessed by experts and awarded a prize in a selection process. This includes the following activities:

- Participant support: The contestants should be supported by the contractor along the course of the contest process and, if necessary, advised, in particular on the contest procedure and conditions of participation, as well as on qualification issues in the course of drawing up the business plans;

- Assessment process: The submitted business plans are assessed by a jury made up of industry experts. The award-winning participants receive prize money and are honored at an award ceremony;

- Accompanying events:

—— Kick-off workshop (one day) to get to know each other and to assign the participants to mentors.

—— Jury meeting and award ceremony (awards from the MULNV management team are desirable).

Individual start-up coaching:

Young, innovative companies require targeted funding and support in the highly complex start-up and post-start-up phase - when drawing up a meaningful business plan, when raising the first funding, first contact with investors, and reaching the first milestones. Networking and exchange are also of central importance: with industry-specific experts, established companies from the industry, with potential investors, but also with other like-minded founders.

One focus of the assignment should therefore be on process-accompanying coaching and networking. Building on service module A, the participants in the start-up competition are to be supported with tailor-made advisory and support services to carry out the specific process of setting up a company and to initiate suitable financing models. A special focus should be placed on individualized coaching. Participants in the competition should be accompanied and individually advised by personal mentors and selected, qualified specialists with relevant industry knowledge.

In the area of business plan preparation, qualification offers (e.g. seminars) on the basics of creating a business plan and the presentation of business ideas (including to jurors, investors) are to be offered. The offers should be tailored to the specific requirements of the founders.

The following services are to be performed:

- Individual support and advice from mentors and experts (e.g. on financing models, legal form, skills and staffing levels, patent issues, industry trends and market forecasts);

- Selected qualification units

Communication and public relations:

The professional preparation of positive success stories is an important tool to make founders known and to promote NRW as a nationally and internationally leading location for products and services in the environmental industry. This applies above all and in particular to innovative companies that give the environmental economy a young, dynamic face and show with their creative ideas and solutions that environmental benefits can go hand in hand with economic success and innovative strength. Appropriate use of communication instruments is intended to help young companies gain more public awareness in the difficult phase of market entry and to make the innovative forces in North Rhine-Westphalia visible.

The communication channels of the contractor and the MULNV, the environmental management competence network and other actors (events, trade fair appearances, press releases, Internet presence, other publications) should be used for the purpose of promoting the start-up competition and publicly announcing and marketing the results. The contractor must ensure that appropriately prepared information is delivered to the communication office of the MULNV.

The further scope of the services results from the service description.