Founders with a migration background, so-called migrant founders, make up a significant part of the German Startupecosystem. Six out of ten German startups with a billion-dollar valuation have at least one migrant founder in the founding team, according to Investigation.
German universities are an important pull factor for migrant founders – one-third of first-generation migrant founders, those who moved to Germany themselves, came to study. Another 22 percent of founders came to the country because of a job offer. Three-quarters of self-immigrated founders have an academic degree.
The group of first-generation immigrants is significantly more internationally oriented than their counterparts without a migration background. Thirty-three percent of the companies they founded generate a larger share of their revenue abroad. Among all German startups, this figure is 20 percent. On average, half of their employees come from abroad. For all startups, the figure is 28 percent.
Migrant Founders Monitor: “Breaking down barriers to immigration”
First-generation migrant entrepreneurs, in particular, struggle with bureaucratic hurdles. Forty-two percent of them feel disadvantaged when dealing with authorities and agencies. Complex processes and a lack of digitalization are criticized, especially compared to other countries. One-third also experience difficulties in dealing with banks.
Magdalena Oehl, deputy board member of the Startup Association, says:
"The startup ecosystem is very international – even here in Germany. At the same time, there's still a lot of untapped potential. If we become more international and attractive to founders from all over the world, our country will benefit. This gives us the task of working with politicians to reduce barriers to immigration, streamline bureaucratic processes, and make all relevant information available in English. Given demographic change, we have no time to lose."
