More start-ups are being founded in NRW

The Start-up Monitor of North Rhine-Westphalia recorded 16.5 percent more start-ups than in the previous year. The federal state aims to be one of Europe's leading regions for start-ups.

More start-ups were founded in North Rhine-Westphalia despite the pandemic. In the first half of the year, 226 start-ups were created, 16.5 percent more than in the same period last year. The figures were compiled by the Federal Association of German Start-ups on behalf of the state government. The survey is not representative, but provides an insight into the sector. Economics Minister Andreas Pinkwart (FDP) is pleased with the positive development. "We want North Rhine-Westphalia to be one of the top 10 leading start-up regions in Europe by 2025," he said at the presentation of the figures.

NRW's boom regions are primarily the cities. Most start-ups are founded in Cologne/Bonn - a quarter of all start-ups are based in the region. This is followed by the Ruhr region with one in five new start-ups and Düsseldorf with just under 14 percent.

Three quarters of the start-ups surveyed have felt the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic, while one in ten companies have not felt the pandemic at all. 13% have even benefited from it.

Although the proportion of female founders has increased compared to the previous year, it is still below the national average in NRW. Just under 13% of start-ups in the state were founded by women, compared to 16% nationwide.