Startup association welcomes the development of a startup and scaleup strategy

The Federal Ministry of Economics is starting to develop a startup and scaleup strategy to strengthen Germany as a business location in the long term. The Startup Association is positive and speaks of an"important framework for action for an ambitious policy".

It will be crucial that the right priorities are set and concrete measures are implemented quickly.

Christoph Stresing, Managing Director of the Startup Association

The association particularly welcomes the fact that online consultations and workshops will enable broad participation from the ecosystem.

Access to capital remains the biggest construction site

Access to growth capital remains a key point of criticism for the association. In international comparison, Germany continues to lag far behind in venture capital investments.

"Without more growth capital - especially for capital-intensive deep tech start-ups - we will not catch up internationally," says Stresing. What is needed is an expansion of the Future Fund, a strengthening of the WIN initiative and new incentives for private investors.

In addition to specific instruments such as a Growth Fund 2, structural reforms in regulation and tax law are also needed, according to the association.

European level: Capital Markets Union and EU Inc

The association also sees the European dimension as crucial for a strong startup ecosystem. What is required:

• A genuine capital markets union that facilitates exits,
• the consistent implementation of the Digital Markets Act for fair competitive conditions,
• and a pan-European legal form for start-ups.

"EU Inc could be a real game changer," emphasizes Stresing. It would make it easier for founders to establish, scale and invest across Europe.

Reducing bureaucracy: Startup in a Day

Another key concern is the reduction of bureaucracy. The association points out that it often takes months to set up a company in Germany.

It is calling for the introduction of Startup in a Day: a completely digital start-up from business registration and tax number to opening an account, including all the necessary processes within 24 hours.

Conclusion & commentary

According to the Startup Association, the federal government's new strategy opens up the opportunity to strengthen Germany as a business location in the long term. The decisive factor now is the swift implementation of concrete measures, from better access to capital and an EU-wide legal form to digital start-up processes. In principle, we agree with the Startup Association as a start-up magazine, but we would like to emphasize that we go well beyond the association's demands in one respect.

Founding a company is a conscious and far-reaching decision. Each of us probably remembers our first trip to the notary and maybe there was a bit of excitement involved, but it has stayed with us. And the bureaucratic effort involved in founding a company is practically nothing compared to the effort that follows once the company has been founded. So if you want to set up now and immediately, you still have the good old handshake and the GBR. The conversion then takes a little time, but it is theoretically and practically possible. Our demand would not be to enable the formation of a legal entity in one day, but to make it possible to have the bureaucratic work for a legal entity completed by one person within one working day, including all requirements, certificates, financial statements and proofs. The focus should not be on the one-off burden, but on the ongoing effort and the associated costs that burden all entrepreneurs.