In 2020, Startup-Champs launched under the conditions of the Corona pandemic initially as a joint national pitch competition, which has also established itself as a live event in recent years. The expansion of this cooperation now confirms the previous successes in the collaboration and aims to further promote the startup economy in Germany and strengthen its international presence.
Together, the four metropolitan areas Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, and Munich represent around 9,000 startups and an investment volume of almost eight billion euros according to the Dealroom database, which also constitutes a significant share of the national startup ecosystem. Since each city brings a unique ecosystem with specific strengths, the collaboration offers diverse opportunities for everyone to expand the existing connections even further.
Startup-Champs cooperation to advance internationalization
The agreement of the participating cities establishes a roadmap for future joint projects and initiatives to better leverage the national and international potential of startups. The main objectives of the “Startup-Champs Germany cooperation” include:
- Joint projects to market the four largest startup locations in Germany
- Increasing the national and international visibility of the participating startup locations
- Supporting local startup ecosystems through mutual networking and information exchange
- Initiatives to further invigorate startup creation activity, for example through the promotion of female entrepreneurship
With the signature of this cooperation agreement at the real estate trade fair, the four cities underscore their commitment to the startup scene and set a strong signal for the future of the German startup ecosystem and its internationalization.
Clemens Baumgärtner, Munich’s head of labor and business affairs, comments:
“No other German city registers more patents and founds more companies per capita than Munich. Innovative business ideas find an ideal environment here through the interaction of top universities and research institutions, extensive funding opportunities and investor networks, as well as strong networking with industry. National competition with the three other German startup metropolises Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne is important and fruitful, but we can benefit even more from a partnership between the locations. With Startup-Champs, the foundation for this has been laid. In the coming years, we will continue to expand the cooperation, in which each city can contribute its individual strengths.”
While the economic development agencies of the four Startup-Champs cities are showcasing at this year’s Expo Real with selected prop-tech startups what innovative solutions startups can offer to large companies in the real estate sector, the first international activities of Startup-Champs will already follow in 2023: At the German joint booths of European startup events such as the Web Summit in Lisbon or Slush in Helsinki, the four cities will already be visible as Startup-Champs. Founders from the four cities were able to apply for participation in order to present their business models to an international specialist audience within the framework of Startup-Champs.
Further information about Startup Champs Germany can be found on the associated website.
