Press Release

Ahead – New Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center Zurich


Competent Support for Founders and SMEs in the Zurich Economic Area

Ahead Launches: Greater Impact for Founders and SMEs

We are pleased to announce that Ahead will begin operations on July 1, 2025. Ahead accompanies founders and SMEs in the Zurich economic area on their entrepreneurial journey and supports them in achieving long-term success.

The new organization brings together the previous offerings of Startzentrum, GO! Microcredits, gruenden.ch, and SMEs & Innovation. This merger marks an important step in the targeted promotion of entrepreneurship and innovative strength in the region. Under the leadership of Chantal Stäuble, we are pooling resources to support founders and SMEs even more effectively.

Why Ahead? Purpose and Vision of the New Organization

The City of Zurich, the Canton of Zurich, and Zürcher Kantonalbank, as sponsors, have identified significant synergy potential as well as gaps in the existing support landscape for entrepreneurship and innovation over recent years. To leverage these potentials strategically and combine their efforts, the sponsors decided to unite their support activities within a single organization. Ahead is being established as a modern, impact-oriented startup and innovation center.

Vision: “We want to accompany the people of Zurich on their entrepreneurial path to make them more successful in the long term and thus contribute to a sustainable and attractive economic and living environment.”

How Ahead Came to Be: Implementation and Development

The implementation took place in several steps. The existing cooperative Startzentrum forms the organizational foundation for the joint promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation by the three sponsors. In 2024, the GO! Microcredits association was merged into Startzentrum. In 2025, the organization was renamed Ahead and integrated the further offerings of SMEs & Innovation and gruenden.ch.

Our proven services, such as personal startup consulting, microcredits, mentoring, and innovation support, will remain in place and form the basis for future success stories. At the same time, these offerings will be further developed in a targeted manner. Additionally, Ahead continuously evaluates new services and develops them where gaps still exist or where services are currently hardly affordable for entrepreneurs. The sponsors support Ahead with operating contributions and are actively involved in the strategic management and further development of the organization.

New Leadership – with a Strong Team for the Future

Ahead is led by Chantal Stäuble as CEO. Together with her team, she brings extensive entrepreneurial experience and innovation expertise.

“With Ahead, we are creating a modern, practice-oriented offering for founders and SMEs. Our goal is to specifically strengthen entrepreneurship and innovative power in the Zurich region and sustainably support people on their entrepreneurial journey.”
– Chantal Stäuble, CEO Ahead

Company Profile:
Ahead at a Glance: Services and Key Figures

Ahead is the new startup and innovation center in Zurich. The organization supports founders and SMEs in the Zurich economic area in developing and implementing their business ideas and innovation projects.

Current offerings include:

  • Free initial consultation for founders

  • Microcredits up to CHF 40’000

  • Innovation consulting for SMEs

Ahead in numbers:

  • 800 consultations per year

  • CHF 11 million in microcredits granted

  • 1’200 jobs created

  • 10’000 entrepreneurs supported

Address: Ahead Zurich Cooperative, Sihlquai 125, 8005 Zurich
Contact for media inquiries: info@ahead-zh.ch