ZUMA: Grants Management for the Welfare Sector

The welfare sector runs on grants and subsidies but drowns in the administration that comes with them. Applications, proof of use, deadlines, annual accounts: all analogue, all manual and all error-prone. That is exactly where ZUMA comes in.

The idea came about in 2018 during René Noethen’s studies for his certified business administrator qualification. His thesis explored how grants processes could be digitised, and he went on to build the first prototype. Not as a side project, but because he saw the need first-hand working day-to-day with welfare organisations and service providers.

In 2021 the prototype became a joint product: René Noethen and Sascha Kirchhofer founded the Noethen, René und Kirchhofer, Sascha GbR, known as R+K Business IT, and professionalised development, infrastructure and sales. In spring 2026 the company transitions to EFINITI Solutions GmbH.

Today more than 150 active users work with ZUMA, primarily welfare organisations managing grants and subsidies. Application workflows, document management, financial accounting integration and a dedicated annual accounts module, all in one interface. Hosted and operated by EFINITI Services.

In 2026 we are adding a searchable grants database, a form editor and PANDORA integration for AI-powered document processing. Interested? zuma@efiniti.de.