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Press Release from 2022-06-14 / Group

Four years of the start-up platform – four years of support for new entrepreneurs

Around four years ago, KfW and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy launched a start-up platform called, in German, "Gründerplattform". Since then, the platform has attracted six million visitors as a point of contact for those seeking to to start a new company. It has helped to support 12,000 start-ups and create 29,000 jobs every year.

The start-up platform offers tips, tools and advice to those interested in starting a business in all sectors – from traditional crafts to specialised, digitalised services. Services range from digital webinars (e.g. via social entrepreneurship) and networking with start-up professionals in the platform’s partner network through to digital tools that make it easier to found new companies. A key element of this is the digital creation of business plans.

Michael Kellner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and Federal Government Officer for SMEs: “Diverse, dynamic start-ups are an essential part of the German economy’s transformation to a digital and environmental market economy. The current data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor shows that start-ups are becoming more diverse. In the second year of the pandemic, many women, young people and migrants in particular turned to self-employment. With their ideas, they are driving the social-environmental transformation of the economy forward. New entrepreneurs are the SMEs of tomorrow – with their talents and entrepreneurial spirit, they strengthen prosperity and climate action, create jobs and ensure the competitiveness and innovative strength of our country. This is why we are committed to further reducing barriers for creating new companies and improving the general conditions for Germany as a location for start-ups in the long term. The start-up platform jointly supported by KfW and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action provides key impetus in this. We want to develop it in the direction of a ‘one-stop shop’, or a point of contact for start-up advice, promotion and registration. The aim is to make it possible to start a new company within 24 hours.”

Stefan Wintels, Chief Executive Officer of KfW: “In the years to come, Germany must accelerate the transition to a sustainable society while strengthening itself as a location for industry and technology. Dynamic start-up activities are crucial for this. Fledgling companies are driving change with new business models and technological solutions. The new KfW Entrepreneurship Monitor is sending encouraging signals: the number of start-ups is growing significantly, the proportion of female entrepreneurs is rising, and digital and Internet-based start-ups have reached record levels. This trend must be maintained. The start-up platform supported by KfW and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action makes a valuable contribution by presenting an offer from a single source to those interested in starting a company, which is required to get off to a quick and successful start.”

Support for the start-up platform from German start-up financers is broad. The platform already has nearly 700 partners. These include all promotional banks and guarantee banks of the federal states, more than 50 percent of all chambers, over 250 savings banks and Volksbanken as well as a number of private banks and regional economic promoters. The range of support is correspondingly broad: more than 600 consulting services and more than 900 events and competitions are available to new entrepreneurs.

To further stimulate start-up activities, it is necessary to keep reducing barriers for creating new companies, while financing and promotional advice must be systematically expanded.

Further information: gruenderplattform.de

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Portrait Wolfram Schweickhardt