Germany has been a startup ecosystem on the rise for quite some time now.
Its produced a number of global success stories including SoundCloud, Zalando, Flixbus, and HelloFresh.
In 2019, the country was rankednumber onein Europe for startups by NimbleFins.
Just what is it about Germanys unique ecosystem thats helped so many startups adapt, survive, and thrive?
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The truly unique thing about Germany is that its a country made up of multiple Digital Hubs.
The major benefit here is that you dont have to be in Berlin or Munich to make it.
The growth of these specialized hubs is also helping to attract international VCs looking for specific profiles.
The result has been the creation of a competitive market for innovative fintech and cybersecurity startups.
However, corporations still only spend0.1% of their revenueon external innovation, so theres definitely room to grow.
Startups will need to recover capital lost during the lockdown period.
The country ranksthird place globallyfor the highest number of deep tech startups, after the US and China.
AI & machine learning, logistics, mobility, and IOT are some of the countrys main strengths.
Centers such as theFraunhofer institutehelp researchers develop their ideas into a viable business plan.
TheStrascheg Centerfor Entrepreneurship at the University of Applied Sciences Munich is one of them.
The government has set up a number of grants to encourage deep tech innovation through much-needed funding.
During the lockdown, the government introduced a2 billionstate aid package to keep struggling startups afloat.
So far, a majority of the late-stage investment has been covered by the US and Asian-based investors.
But new initiatives are already being generated to help fill this gap.
Former Rocket Internet execs recently announced their intention to start a newVenture Capital firmfocused on deep tech.
During the event, ten startups from different Hubs will pitch their business to a panel of international investors.
Learn more about the upcoming eventand how you’re able to stream live from home.
