bizeps - the "Bergisch-Märkische Initiative zur Förderung von Existenzgründungen, Projekten and Strukturen"("Bergisch-Märkisch Initiative for the Promotion of New Business, Projects and Structures"), is a competence network of various university, private and public institutions of the Bergisch-Märkisch region.

As part of various subsidiary projects, the project partners support the foundation of new, innovative companies by university-leavers, with the objective of creating viable and sustainable jobs in the region.

The bizeps project has been sponsored since 1998 by the BMBF ("German Ministry of Economics and Research"), and was also co-financed over the period 2002-2004 by the "Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung" ("Ministry of Science and Research") of the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Project partners include the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Bayer AG in Wuppertal, Douglas-Holding AG and FernUniversität in Hagen, the Gerling Konzern GmbH Köln, the Gründer- and Technologiezentrum Solingen GmbH, Radio Hagen, Remscheider General-Anzeiger, Solinger Tageblatt, Westdeutsche Zeitung, Sparkasse Hagen, Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal, Technische Akademie Wuppertal, W-tec GmbH, Wirtschaftsförderung Hagen and EXIST and GO!.

Further information is available from www.bizeps.de.