INQA Coaching Rostock: 80% grant for digitalization in ports, crafts, and services

INQA-Coaching supports companies in Rostock with 80% of consulting costs – up to €11,520 for twelve coaching days, own contribution €2,880. Because Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is classified as a structurally weak region, the BAFA consulting subsidy with the full 80% applies in Rostock as well, instead of the 50% that apply in the old federal states.

Rostock: largest location in the state, typical SME structure

With around 209,000 residents, Rostock is the largest city in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the state’s economic center: Port and maritime economy, logistics, healthcare, a growing IT and startup location around the university, as well as a broad base of skilled trades and service providers.

Despite the city’s size, the business structure remains dominated by medium-sized companies. This is exactly where the funding gap addressed by INQA-Coaching lies: companies with 20 to 200 employees have clear digitalization needs, but rarely a dedicated unit to manage a project alongside day-to-day operations.

What coaching is particularly suitable for in Rostock

• Dispatching and scheduling – when orders, vehicles or teams are reassigned every day
• Inquiries and quotations – automated initial qualification instead of repeated phone-based data entry
• Documentation – structured, searchable filing instead of organically grown folder structures
• Knowledge retention – an internal AI assistant that works with the company’s own documents instead of tying knowledge to individual people

Requirements

• Fewer than 250 employees
• Annual revenue no more than €50 million or annual balance sheet total of at most €43 million
• At least one full-time position subject to social security contributions
• For at least two yearsin the market
• Registered office and place of work in Germany – including freelancers and non-profit organizations

Practical example: logistics service provider in Rostock with 60 employees

A typical case: A logistics service provider in Rostock coordinates orders between dispatch, drivers, and customers mainly by phone and email. Status inquiries tie up several hours in the back office every day. In the coaching, the first step is to identify which inquiries are recurring – in such cases, these are usually between 60 and 80% pure status requests. An automated information channel is then set up and tested with the team, so that the back office only handles the real exceptions.

Frequently asked questions about INQA coaching in Rostock

Does the INQA coach have to come from Rostock?

No, what matters is authorization as an INQA coach. bettersorted is an authorized INQA coach based in Schwerin, about 90 kilometers from Rostock. The coaching days take place on site at the company, supplemented by digital appointments in between.

How many coaching days do I get?

Up to twelve coaching days are funded. How many of them make sense depends on the project and is clarified in the initial consultation – the funding rate of 80% applies regardless of the number.

Is proximity to the university also relevant, for example for start-ups?

Not for eligibility for funding. What matters, among other things, is that the company has been on the market for at least two years – younger start-ups below this threshold are not yet eligible to apply for INQA-Coaching.

What happens after the twelve days?

The coaching ends with a final meeting. Since the solutions were developed within the company and together with the employees, the team continues to work independently – this is expressly the aim of the program and it is not intended as follow-up consulting.

Next step

The Funding Check shows in just a few minutes which funding may be available for your Rostock-based company. More about the program on the page INQA Coaching.

As of September 2026. Funding rates according to INQA Coaching (BMAS) and BAFA consulting funding. Funding conditions may change – we check the current status before each application.