By Kai Hennig |
Kai Hennig
Known as the “ Silicon Allee ,” Berlin is undeniably one of Europe ’ s top tech hubs . Every 20 hours there is a new startup founded in Berlin — with roughly 2,500 of them in total . In addition , there are over 14 major incubators and accelerators located in the German capital . In 2015 , German startups raised nearly 3 billion Euros in venture capital , over 2 billion of which were spent on startups in Berlin . In the first half of 2016 , about 520 million Euros went to the scene on the river Spree . Alongside Berlin there are two more very well established entrepreneurship ecosystems in Germany — Hamburg with its significantly smaller but tight-knit and powerful startup community , and Munich which benefits from its proximity to large tech companies . But it is important for federal governments , no matter the country , to not only
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focus on the larger startup hubs but to work toward growing smaller startup communities into thriving centers for innovation . Let ’ s take a closer look at three promising regions where the Silicon Allee |
is expanding and see how the government is promoting this growth .
The federal state of North Rhine- Westphalia , with its metropolitan Rhine- Ruhr region , registered a significant 50 % growth of its local startup scene in 2015 . Now , more than 15 % of the startups in Germany have their headquarters here . Promoting this ecosystem is one way of trying to master the structural change in the former coal mining district . The main goal of the federal government is to simplify the transfer of innovative technology from its numerous well-known universities to the marketplace . Its initiative “ Startup Hochschul-Ausgründungen ” ( which can be roughly translated to “ Startup University-entrepreneurship ”) supports selected startups with a total of 20 million Euros through 2020 .
Saxony follows with its program SAXEED , a similar approach to that of North Rhine-Westphalia , that offers
Source : CB Insights
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coaching for young university graduates during the implementation of their business ideas . The startup scene in Leipzig is especially booming , which is why locals have begun to refer to the city as “ Hypezig .”
Furthermore , it seems important to keep an eye on the developing startup scene in Baden-Wuerttemberg . The newly elected federal government seeks to make Baden- Wuerttemberg “ the most dynamic entrepreneur ecosystem in Europe .” To do this , they aim to build a statewide founder network and promote the relocation of business angels and venture capitalists . Throughout this process , the federal government can rely on several already established initiatives , including its “ Elevator Pitch BW ”— the first statewide annual pitch competition . In addition , Baden- Wuerttemberg is a partner of the MedTech Startup School ( MSS ), where participants “ receive real-world innovation training while working on a startup idea .” MSS adapted Steve Blank ´ s Lean Launchpad for Life Sciences & Health Care Curriculum from the Universities of Berkeley , Stanford , and San Francisco . Additionally , Stuttgart is also home to the FinTech-Days which inspire teams to “ get finnovative ” with events including a Bankathon , where interdisciplinary teams develop and implement FinTech ideas within 40 hours .
Naturally , the federal governments also keep track of what is going on in Berlin and try to learn from the capital ’ s strategic approach to promoting its startup scene . In 2015 , Berlin ’ s Senate and representatives of the startup industry founded the Berlin Startup Unit . The key purpose of the Berlin Startup Unit is to enhance the frame conditions for startups by analyzing existing structures , exposing what the system is lacking and using this information to develop new incentives for founders . The information gathered through this bottom-up process resulted in the “ Berliner Startup Agenda ,” which will set the direction of the industry for the years to come . One of the agenda ’ s main goals is to strengthen Berlin ’ s collaboration with tech hubs worldwide . To this end , Berlin ’ s senator for economics , Cornelia Yzer , came to New York City in 2015 to foster the exchange between local startup communities .
North Rhine Westphalia , Saxony and Baden-Wuerttemberg are only three examples of the widely spread efforts of Germany ’ s federal governments to promote their local startup scenes . Without a doubt there is still a lot to do , but they are a positive notion of how the “ Silicon Allee ” is steadily expanding throughout Germany .
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Kai Hennig is , Deputy Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany , head of the economic department . |
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