In times of uncertainty and crisis, we as entrepreneurs, ecosystem supporters and members of the wider European community need to come together. That’s why we are thrilled to announce that the City of Cologne and the City of Hamburg have joined SCALE – our collaborative force of European cities.
We’d like to take this time to bring you some good news and introduce our two new vibrant ‘start-up city’ hubs:
City of Cologne
Start-up hot-spot, traditional industrial and commercial city, international hub, innovative media metropolis and a leading logistics location; Cologne has not only become one of Europe’s most important economic centres but also a champion of the start-up scene. Innovative sectors such as the digital economy, biotechnology and life sciences are also gaining traction. The Cathedral City is one of Germany’s most populous and affluent regions, conveniently connected to thriving cities nearby.
Cologne’s got talent
Cologne’s start-up scene is becoming increasingly popular with young talents as some 650 start-ups generate around one billion euros in revenue per annul. The Startup Unit Cologne serves as a central contact point for national and international startups.
The City of Cologne’s Start-up Unit supports young founders by inviting them to exchange insights at networking events of all sizes. The Digital Hub Cologne also brings companies, science and industry together and helps to evaluate innovation topics for their own companies during workshops. Their initiative aims to create new values within and for the digital economy.
City of Hamburg
The numbers speak for themselves. Hamburg had Germany’s highest number of startups since 2014 according to the startup monitor by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). But what has fostered the spirit of entrepreneurship in this city on the Elbe? The startup scene is constantly in motion! Hamburg is a startup hot-spot in Germany’s ecosystem, with a variety of local industries, academic facilities and public and private initiatives supporting young companies.
Providing direction: Main point of contact for entrepreneurs in Hamburg
The Startup Unit is the port of call for knowledge and technology-oriented startup businesses in Hamburg. By consolidating several different services under the umbrella of Hamburg Invest, Hamburg’s rapidly growing startup ecosystem has been professionalised even further. Supported by a small, but hardworking team, they aim to strengthen Hamburg’s startup ecosystem and represent the scene both nationally and internationally.The Startup Unit thus serves as the central point of contact for anyone looking for information on innovative startups, events and conferences, universities, public funding agencies, economic clusters, as well as incubator and accelerator programmes.
For the City of Hamburg, the promotion of knowledge-based start-ups from the universities is particularly important. They recognise the major potential to be found at Hamburg’s universities and research institutes and so have made it easier for innovative business ideas to get onto the market. This is why they launched the digital start-up platform “beyourpilot” in 2018.
“Supporting start-ups at our universities and research institutes is an important component of knowledge and technology transfer,” – Senator Frank Horch
Through the combination of online and offline offerings, the platform will enable us to create a unique selling point for Hamburg nationwide and strengthen our start-up teams in the long term.
Hamburg: the international innovation hub for digital business transformation in logistics
The Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg is a point of contact for digital business transformation in the logistics industry for both the region and across Germany. The hub unites market leaders, start-ups, science, research, and universities in northern Europe’s leading logistics location. This hub strengthens Hamburg’s leading position among the global competition of digital logistics centres and leading economic capitals.
