Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) has pledged to implement better tax conditions for startups in Germany, stating that the federal government will ensure significantly more private capital flows into young, innovative companies.
The Deputy Chancellor announced this to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.” Klingbeil is scheduled to meet with founders on Monday in Berlin at the “Branchendialog Ost” (Industry Dialogue East) to understand the specific requirements founders face when starting a business. Elisabeth Kaiser (SPD), the federal representative for the East, has invited about 70 companies from the East German startup scene. Kaiser stated to the RND that “East Germany is a startup country,” emphasizing that the goal is for the “Dax company of tomorrow” to emerge from the region. However, she noted that capital is frequently a shortage, pointing out that venture capital volume in the United States was approximately 37 times larger in the last year than in Germany.
Founders from Saxony welcomed the conference, arriving with concrete demands. Michael Petrosjan from the Leipzig startup Flynex called for faster market entry, less bureaucracy, and procurement procedures that are more friendly to innovation. “New technologies take too long to move from a pilot project to productive application,” he told the RND. Furthermore, the Saxony Technology Founder Fund identified transport links as a major location problem. Sören Schuster, the managing director, noted that commute times, such as traveling from Dresden to Düsseldorf or Stuttgart in a single workday, are a reality.
Klingbeil expressed his commitment to the goal of having “the global market leaders of tomorrow founded and growing in Germany.” He sees the Industry Dialogue East as the right platform for achieving this, insisting on hearing directly from the founders about what they need to take the next step. He added, “Together with Elisabeth Kaiser, I am working to ensure that they can take this step here. East Germany is currently demonstrating how much future potential this land holds.” The finance minister also referred to the Future Fund, managed under the umbrella of the Deutschlandfonds, which aims to mobilize billions of euros in risk capital.
Additionally, Klingbeil told the RND that “together with our E6 partners, we are working to improve financing conditions across Europe in the Savings and Investment Union,” specifically mentioning France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.
