At the second research summit in Berlin yesterday, Chancellor Merkel appealed to business and society to make greater use of the opportunities offered by digitalization. She emphasized that Germany and Europe must become more attractive, especially for startups.
In her speech, Merkel emphasized the importance of innovative companies for Germany as a business location:
"We are one of the world's most successful export nations because we can impress the global markets with our research- and development-intensive high-tech offerings. We will only be able to maintain our prosperity if we continue to maintain this innovative strength."
She promised “that we want to make Germany more attractive for startups, but we also have to” and emphasized existing funding opportunities such as High-Tech Gründerfonds, EXIST, INVEST and coparion:
"We have a variety of funding instruments, especially for the startup scene. This is a big issue. It must be said: We've done a lot recently, but we're not at the end of our efforts."
Europe lagging behind?
Europe has "many strategic disadvantages" compared to America and Asia. Particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises, "the need for digitalization must be firmly established across the board. This will also play a key role in determining whether we truly recognize the signs of the future." Among other things, this requires,
“to create a positive attitude among people towards big data management. Data are raw materials; they must not be tainted per se with a negative skin flavor."
However, the protection of personal data must be guaranteed.
