© dpa
Fewer start-ups were founded in Berlin in 2023 than a year earlier - but the capital remains the most popular location in Germany for start-ups, ahead of Munich.
As the startup association announced on Friday, 468 startups were counted in Berlin in 2023 - seven percent fewer than a year earlier. Nationwide, too, fewer start-ups were created last year than in 2022.
The decline in start-ups affected almost all sectors, according to the association. Only the software sector saw an increase. There was a particularly sharp decline in the number of start-ups in online retail - according to the association, the weak consumer climate had an impact here. The analysis company Startupdetector evaluated commercial register data for the overview. One possible reason for the lower number of start-ups could also be the decline in investments in Berlin start-ups in 2022. Start-ups are dependent on investors as they do not initially make a profit. Large funds and corporations put money into young companies in the hope that their ideas will succeed. However, in view of rising interest rates and the uncertainty surrounding the war in Ukraine and the economy, investors' money has not been so loose recently.
"Berlin is still the capital of start-ups," emphasized Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey (SPD) in light of the figures. "Almost a fifth of all start-ups in Germany are founded here. This is also good news for our entire metropolitan region in view of the conflict-ridden global situation and the difficult overall economic development in Germany." Almost 2,500 start-ups were founded across Germany in 2023.