Start Your Business for Free with AVGS Coaching in Duisburg

That depends on your benefit. If you receive ALG I, the Employment Agency in Duisburg is responsible (Wintgensstraße 29-33, 47058 Duisburg; phone 0800 4555500). If you receive basic income support (ALG II), your local Jobcenter Duisburg is responsible. In both cases your caseworker decides on the AVGS. In-person visits are only possible by appointment; we prepare you flexibly online for the conversation.

You can find an official list of AZAV-certified providers in the KURSNET of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit). We, UW Unternehmensweg GmbH, are an AZAV-certified provider (provider certificate Z-000392-2, area 1) based in Leverkusen that offers AVGS programs nationwide. Our programs are delivered entirely online, flexibly and without travel. We offer two programs: “Businessweg” (Z-000482-2) for start-up coaching and “JobWeg” (Z-001366-3) for applicant & job coaching.

The approval time depends on your caseworker and the current workload of the Employment Agency in Duisburg. It typically takes 2–4 weeks from application to approval. For well-prepared applications with a clear rationale and a viable concept, the approval rate is considerably higher. We prepare you for the conversation with your caseworker, online and at flexible times that suit you. In Duisburg, you can reach the Employment Agency at 0800 4555500 and the Jobcenter at 0203 302 1910.

Duisburg’s start-up scene is strongly shaped by logistics, industry, and hydrogen. The startport platform in the Innenhafen (inner harbor) brings logistics start-ups together with companies and runs a coworking space there. The economic development agency DBI offers a founders’ consultation hour on the fourth Wednesday of every month. At the Tectrum technology center on Bismarckstraße, there are offices and workshop spaces for young technology companies. Social and ecological start-ups are supported by the Impact Factory in Ruhrort. In 2025, IT.NRW counted 4,478 business registrations in Duisburg, just over 1,000 more than in 2024; the statistics do not say where the jump comes from.

From the age of 25, your postal code decides. The Mitte branch office at Friedrich-Wilhelm-Straße 103 covers 47051, 47053, 47055, 47057, 47058, 47059, 47119, 47137, 47138, 47249, 47259, 47269, and 47279. The Nord branch office at Walther-Rathenau-Straße 2 is responsible for 47139, 47166, 47167, 47169, 47178, and 47179, and the West branch office at Dr.-Alfred-Herrhausen-Allee 15-17 for 47198, 47199, 47226, 47228, 47229, and 47239. If you are under 25, have a university degree, are in rehabilitation, or have a severe disability, go to Wintgensstraße 29-33. For Romanian and Bulgarian nationals, Baumstraße 40 is responsible; for homeless people, Beekstraße 45. Appointments are available via the service center at 0203 302 1910.

Duisburg has three tax offices; their responsibilities are set out in the NRW regulation on tax office jurisdiction (Finanzamtszuständigkeitsverordnung NRW). Duisburg-Hamborn at Hufstraße 25 covers the city districts of Hamborn, Meiderich-Beeck, and Walsum. Duisburg-Süd at Landfermannstraße 25 covers the Süd city district as well as Altstadt, Dellviertel, Duissern, and Neudorf. Duisburg-West at Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 133 covers Homberg-Ruhrort and Rheinhausen as well as Hochfeld, Kaßlerfeld, Neuenkamp, and Wanheimerort. You can reach all three at 0211 1655 1655.

The Niederrheinische IHK Duisburg-Wesel-Kleve issues the expert opinion as a qualified body if you start a business in its district. For this, you need a complete business plan for three full fiscal years. It includes capital requirements, personal withdrawals, revenue planning, profitability planning, and a liquidity plan. In addition, you need your CV, supporting documents, and the Employment Agency’s form. You choose the qualified body yourself; the law names chambers, professional associations, and credit institutions only as examples. In AVGS coaching, we prepare these documents together with you.

The quickest way is online via the Wirtschafts-Service-Portal.NRW. In person, you need an appointment at the city’s business registration office, which you can book up to six weeks in advance. The city does not accept registrations by email; registration by post is possible. Registration costs €26 for sole proprietorships and per partner of a GbR, €33 for GmbH and UG. Since April 1, 2026, you can only pay administrative fees at the city by card.

Primarily ALG I recipients whose caseworker sees a need for counseling get an AVGS. People receiving basic income support (ALG II) can also receive an AVGS in certain cases. Issuing the AVGS is at the caseworker’s discretion; there is no legal entitlement to start-up coaching. Important: you must apply for the AVGS BEFORE the counseling begins, otherwise later funding is not possible.

With an AVGS voucher: 100% funded after written approval, so you pay nothing at all. The costs are billed entirely through your activation voucher. If you do not receive an AVGS, there are alternative routes: BAFA-funded consulting with a reduced personal contribution, or self-pay consulting. In the free initial consultation we clarify which route fits your situation.

AVGS coaching comprises up to 120 teaching units (UE), spread over 2–6 months. The exact number is stated in your AVGS voucher. We align the schedule flexibly with your availability, for example 2–3 sessions per week of 90 minutes, online via Zoom or Teams. Content: business plan, financial plan, marketing, and preparing the start-up grant application.

The AVGS is a COUNSELING voucher for coaching (for example start-up coaching). The start-up grant is direct FINANCIAL support for your living costs during the start-up phase (6 months of ALG I plus €300 per month). The two can be combined: AVGS coaching can be exactly the way to prepare your start-up grant application professionally. After that, the Employment Agency can extend the grant by nine months at €300 each if you prove your business activity. If you only receive basic income support, you will not get a start-up grant. In that case, the entry allowance may be an option at the Jobcenter, also without a legal entitlement.