The Student Entrepreneurship Voucher (formerly called DE Startup Voucher) is a grant of a maximum of €2,500, offered by Delft Enterprises, to help TU Delft students turn their ideas into a business. The grant does not have to be repaid when spent for its intended purpose as described below.

Purpose

The Student Entrepreneurship Voucher is intended to give entrepreneurial-minded TU Delft students the opportunity to cover the first costs of developing an innovative idea into a business proposition. With the Voucher the TU Delft hopes to support in kickstarting its students’ entrepreneurial journey.

With the Student Entrepreneurship Voucher, TU Delft helps lower the financial barrier for turning innovative ideas generated during studies into a viable business. With this grant, TU Delft aims to support startups and entrepreneurs in the earliest stages.

Eligibility

The Voucher can be granted to natural persons who meet the following conditions: 

  • The student has an innovative idea and the ultimate goal to start a business based on this idea. 
  • The student can only apply once for the Voucher. However, one retry is possible after participating in one of the YES!Delft Students programs. 
  • The applicant is a student at the Delft University of Technology or has graduated from the TU Delft for up to 6 months before application. Are you a PhD student? Please contact one of the Business Developers for any help in further developing your innovative idea. 

Application process

To apply for the Student Entrepreneurship Voucher, you must fill in the application form, describing your idea and the plan to develop and/or test it. The final step of the application is to upload an elevator pitch: a video of a maximum of 90 seconds in which you present your idea to us. This pitch should briefly explain the problem you are solving, your proposed solution, why your idea is valuable, and how you intend to use the voucher.

After submitting your application, it will be reviewed by a committee consisting of several Delft Enterprises team members. Approximately two weeks after the deadline, you will be informed whether you have received the voucher

If you are awarded the voucher, you will be invited to sign an agreement including the conditions specified below, after which the funds will be transferred to your personal bank account. After the project is finished, you are required to hand in a concise report on the realisation of your plans. 

There are three rounds of application per year. In each round, a maximum of (but not necessarily) five vouchers are awarded. 

Next deadline: April 1, 2026

Conditions

If awarded, the Student Entrepreneurship Voucher will be made available under the following conditions: 

  • Only realised, eligible costs may be covered with the Voucher. The grantee may have to (partially) repay the voucher if one deviates from the granted application. 
  • Only costs with receipts or invoices of registered companies are eligible costs to be covered with the Voucher. 
  • Invoices by entities held by the applicant or partners in the project are not eligible costs. 
  • Hours spent by the team are not eligible costs. 
  • Unless invoiced by a KvK-registered entity, hours of externals are not eligible costs. 
  • After one year, the remaining budget for which no eligible costs can be shown must be returned. 

 

Tips and tricks

  • A well-defined and complete budget is vital for the application. You are free to budget external services according to the conditions, but it is also important to show what skills and time investment you will bring to the table.  
  • Do you want to include second-hand purchases in your budget? We do encourage that! However, make sure to save pictures of the advertisements and transactions.  
  • It is a plus if you can illustrate why this amount of money is suitable for you now. Does it fit with the other funding you are applying for? Does the voucher bring your idea to the next step? 

The Student Entrepreneurship Voucher is provided by Delft Enterprises. Delft Enterprises does not claim a student’s intellectual property and will not take shares/equity as a result of awarding the voucher. If your idea was generated within a research project, your contract states where IP rights lie.  

For any questions regarding the Student Entrepreneurship Voucher, you can contact Marijke Spijk via M.A.C.Spijk@tudelft.nl