How can female entrepreneurs with sustainable business ideas strengthen the region? Which networks help them on their path to self-employment, and what obstacles do they face along the way? The AFFINITY research project at the Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) is exploring these questions. For an interview study, the project team is now looking for women from Mönchengladbach, Krefeld and the districts of Viersen and Neuss who have set up a business with a focus on sustainability.
According to existing research results, women are more likely than men to integrate sustainable goals into their businesses. At the same time, female entrepreneurs who drive ecological or social innovation through their business models may face particular challenges. In addition to the general requirements of setting up a business, unconscious gender-specific barriers and higher demands for social and economic recognition of their business models may play a role.
This is precisely where the AFFINITY project of the Niederrhein Institute for Regional and Structural Research (NIERS) comes in. The researchers are investigating the links between female entrepreneurs, regional institutions and other stakeholders in the field of sustainability in the Middle Lower Rhine region. The focus is particularly on the networks of female entrepreneurs and the question of how relationships between individuals and institutions can foster sustainable innovation.
“We want to find out what role institutions, organisations and partnerships play in sustainable entrepreneurship in our region. Our aim is to identify and strengthen the regional innovation potential of sustainable female entrepreneurship,” explains Professor Dr Angelika Krehl, who is co-leading the project with Professor Dr Sue Rossano-Rivero.
For the current study, AFFINITY is therefore seeking female entrepreneurs who have founded a business with a sustainability focus in Mönchengladbach, Krefeld, the district of Viersen or the Rhine district of Neuss. Sustainability does not have to relate exclusively to environmental and climate protection. Social or other forward-looking and sustainable business objectives and business models are also of interest to the research.
In the interviews, which will last around 60 minutes, the researchers would like to find out more about the founders’ experiences: Who supported them when they set up their businesses? Which networks did they use? And what opportunities and challenges do they face as female entrepreneurs in the field of sustainability?
The interviews can take place online, at the NIERS Institute at the HSNR, or at a location of the interviewees’ choice. Dates for the interviews will be arranged individually from September 2026 onwards. All information will, of course, be treated confidentially and in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation.
The results of the project are intended to help shape the regional start-up environment in the field of sustainability in a more informed way. Both existing and future women-led sustainable businesses in the Middle Lower Rhine region could benefit from this.
Interested female entrepreneurs can contact Julia Swagemakers by email at julia.swagemakers(at)hs-niederrhein.de to arrange a personalised interview appointment.
Further information on the project is available at: https://www.hs-niederrhein.de/niers/
