Vali Berlin

The entrepreneurship hub at ESMT Berlin

Catalyst for sustainable & entrepreneurial growth

Vali Berlin - Entrepreneurship Hub at ESMT Berlin fosters entrepreneurship for economic, environmental, and social value creation in Europe and beyond. This lies at the heart of ESMT Berlin and Vali's mission: to generate and disseminate new knowledge that propels business and society forward. We do so through a range of initiatives in three main areas: venture building, corporate entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship education and research.

Our pillars

Venture Building

We support outstanding entrepreneurial talents to build aspiring tech ventures, from the first idea and finding co-founders to reach product-market fit, in a structured funnel of venture programs.

Corporate Entrepreneurship

We foster corporate entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial growth, providing our partners with executive education, access to entrepreneurial talent, deal flow to startups, integration and collaboration with startups, business development, and joint programs and labs.

Entrepreneurship Education and Research

We educate future entrepreneurs inside and outside of the classroom, offering courses in tools and frameworks, but also enable exchange between our students and other talent. We do this by integrating our offerings together with faculty into the classroom to bridge the gap between academia and education.

ESMT Demo Day

ESMT Demo Day is an annual event that brings together key stakeholders within Europe’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. It aims to build bridges between corporates, startups, investors, and the academia through facilitating strategic connections and knowledge exchange. This year’s Demo Day will include several interactive and informational segments like co-founder matching, 1-on-1 networking for select investors and startups, and keynote speeches, panel discussions, and fireside chats with industry experts.

Venture Building

We support outstanding entrepreneurial talents to build aspiring tech ventures, from the first idea and finding co-founders to reach product-market fit, in a structured funnel of venture programs.

Sustainability Bootcamp (SB)

Ideation Program

The Sustainability Bootcamp brings together corporates, NGOs, scaleups and entrepreneurial talent to analyze important climate issues and develop first solution approaches.

Summer Entrepreneurship Program (SEP)

Incubation Program

Summer Entrepreneurship Program is a 12 week program that offers entrepreneurial talents the opportunity to find co-founders and develop a tech venture idea.

Acceleration and scaling

NEXT program is a five-month acceleration program designed for tech B2B ventures with an MVP and first market validation that strive to scale and reach product-market fit.

Reduco and Solar Optic win Grand Finale of 2nd Annual INNOVA Europe Competition

September 27, 2024 | ESMT press

Start-up teams from nine of Europe’s best business schools competed for €25K in prize money at STATION F in Paris. Students and young entrepreneurs representing Europe’s top business schools participated in the Grand Finale of the 2nd Annual INNOVA Europe Competition today at STATION F in Paris. This year’s event brought together more schools than ever and challenged students and recent graduates to use entrepreneurial thinking to solve some of the planet’s biggest challenges.

ESMT Demo Day celebrates innovation and startup competition winner

September 20, 2024 | ESMT Press

The annual Demo Day, hosted by ESMT Berlin on September 19, once again brought together Europe’s brightest entrepreneurial minds from diverse industries. Organized by ESMT’s Entrepreneurship Hub, Vali Berlin, this year’s event welcomed over 180 guests including early-stage startup founders, investors, corporate leaders, and academic experts. The event provided a dynamic platform for these key players in the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem to exchange ideas, forge connections, and discuss groundbreaking innovation.

EaVy Charging and Reduco win German round of INNOVA Europe competition for sustainable entrepreneurship

August 7, 2024 | ESMT Press

EaVy Charging and Reduco are the German national winners of INNOVA Europe, a competition for ambitious entrepreneurial students and alumni from top European business schools. The Europe-wide competition targets early-stage and minimum viable product (MVP) ideas that have the potential to create significant social and environmental impact, thereby fostering innovative solutions that support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The two teams will travel to Paris for the grand final between all national winners at STATION F on September 26.