SEPT MBA in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Development

Benefits & funding

• DAAD pays graduate scholarship holders €992 per month.
• DAAD contributes to health, accident and personal liability insurance and provides a travel allowance unless another source covers travel.
• A monthly rent subsidy and an allowance for accompanying family members may be available in some circumstances.
• The SEPT MBA lasts two years; DAAD states that EPOS funding length depends on the course and ranges from 12 to 42 months.

Eligibility

• Eligible nationalities and territories are: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Saint Helena, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, North Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna.
• Hold an undergraduate degree worth at least 180 ECTS or an equivalent qualification; DAAD expects an appropriate bachelor’s degree and an above-average result in the upper third.
• Have at least two years of relevant professional experience after the bachelor’s degree, specifically in SME promotion and training for SEPT.
• Provide TOEFL iBT 78, IELTS Academic 6.0 overall, or a letter confirming that the undergraduate program was taught in English; the test report must be no more than two years old.
• Applicants with a three-year Indian bachelor’s degree need at least first division or 60%, an A or Very Good result, or a GPA of 3.00 or higher; applicants from China, Vietnam and India must provide an APS certificate.
• The most recent academic degree should normally be no more than six years old, and applicants who already hold a master’s degree must justify funding for another postgraduate degree.
• DAAD does not consider applicants who have lived in Germany for more than 15 months by the application deadline.

Application process

1. 1
   Submit the online SEPT application between 1 August and 1 October 2026 for admission in winter term 2027/28.
2. 2
   Upload the signed DAAD form and checklist, a signed Europass CV, a signed motivation letter of no more than two pages, academic records, English evidence, work certificates and a current-employer recommendation.
3. 3
   If shortlisted, send the requested original certified hard-copy documents to the SEPT office by post.
4. 4
   Complete the compulsory online interview for shortlisted DAAD EPOS applicants.
5. 5
   If nominated by the selection committee, upload the complete application again to the DAAD portal when DAAD contacts you.

Program timeline

1. DAAD EPOS applications open.

   Aug 1, 2026

2. Application deadline.

   Oct 1, 2026

3. Date not published

   Screening, shortlist and compulsory online interviews.

4. October 2027

   SEPT MBA studies begin.

5. Date not published

   Final decisions and exact program end date.