Federal Minister of Economics Altmaier's appearance at the Startup Camp in mid-April was viewed as a positive sign by the German startup scene. However, he offered a less positive assessment of the startup scene in Germany, noting that the number of new companies founded in Germany is declining. What his ministry intends to do about it.
In his speech at the Startup Camp in Berlin, Peter Altmaier, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, described the declining number of new startups in Germany as an alarming sign. He was invited to the event as a speaker on the first day of the conference. He argued that people now need to be more motivated to start businesses again.
More capital for startups
Altmaier sees the key to more start-ups in easier access to capital for founders. Even though public financing programs were already launched during the last legislative period, the funds provided—more specifically, two billion euros for innovative founders in the coming years—are, in his opinion, far from sufficient. Especially when you consider how much capital is made available to founders in the USA, for example. Altmaier sees a possible solution at the EU level—and therefore wants to seek dialogue on new financing programs at this level as well.
“We should not spend our money on social programs that do not lead to more employment, but we should focus our money on innovation,”
he demanded, according to Handelsblatt.
Hot topic: digitalization
He also announced his intention to push forward the expansion of digital infrastructure, as well as the digitization of public administration. Both topics that actually fall within the purview of Federal Chancellery Minister Helge Braun and State Minister for Digital Affairs Dorothee Bär. However, in his inaugural speech to the German startup scene, the new Economics Minister also made it clear that he and his ministry also want to be at the forefront of the future of digitization.
