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Cologne and the Rhineland - Germany's hidden entrepreneurship hotspot

NRW, the Rhineland region and the city of Cologne offer tremendous unexploited potential for the German and European startup sectors.

the rhineland has all ingredients to become a European startup powerhouse

Founders: NRW has the largest share of startup headquarters in Germany
Customers: 18m inhabitants, 160m consumers within a 500km radius, 708k SMEs
Talent: 80k students of computer science and electrical engineering
Political environment: Friendly state policy for startups (Neue Gründerzeit NRW; NRW founder scholarship)

the rhineland has all ingredients to become a European startup powerhouse

yet, entrepreneurship in Germany is biased towards Berlin and Munich

Example: Accelerators in Germany. Additionally, most of these accelerators are driven by large corporates or public institutions. What is needed: more founder-driven initiatives.

yet, entrepreneurship in Germany is biased towards Berlin and Munich

Cologne provides an excellent launch pad

Inhabitants: Cologne has 1.09m inhabitants
Education: Colgne has 100k university students and scientists
Infrastructure: Cologne has three international airports in the immediate vicinity
Ecosystem: Cologne has about 2,000 companies that belong to the digital ecosystem

Cologne provides an excellent launch pad

our mission is to unleash the full potential of the Rhineland

Together with our knowledge, investment, and community partners, we pursue three core goals:

- accelerating the best startups and brings them to cologne

- connecting all existing players in the cologne startup sector

- educating school kids about entrepreneurial thinking and acting - to enable them to solve tomorrow's challenges

We have the ambition (1) to establish the Rhineland as the third major German startup hotspot alongside Berlin and Munich, (2) to push the digitalization of our economy and (3) to provide space for innovation and competitiveness.

Community

Slide 1 of 14

  • RWTH Aachen University,

    Among Europe's foremost tech and sciences universities.

  • KölnBusiness,

    The newly founded City of Cologne’s business development agency. Can help startups for example in all relevant city administration-related concerns or with the search for work space.

  • WHU, Otto Beisheim School of Managemet,

    The most entrepreneurial business school in Germany.

  • University of Cologne,

    One of Germany‘s largest and most renowned universities.

  • Pirate Summit,

    Europe's largest invitation-only conference for early-stage startups, investors, and corporate executives.

  • Wissensfabrik,

    Club of about 140 German corporates and foundations committed to encouraging MINT and entrepreneurial education in schools and to supporting startups. FOND OF is a member of Wissensfabrik.

  • TechLabs,

    TechLabs Düsseldorf offers young people a platform to learn state-of-the-art tech skills.

  • RWTH Aachen University,

    Among Europe's foremost tech and sciences universities.

  • WHU, Otto Beisheim School of Managemet,

    The most entrepreneurial business school in Germany.

  • University of Cologne,

    One of Germany‘s largest and most renowned universities.

  • Pirate Summit,

    Europe's largest invitation-only conference for early-stage startups, investors, and corporate executives.

  • Wissensfabrik,

    Club of about 140 German corporates and foundations committed to encouraging MINT and entrepreneurial education in schools and to supporting startups. FOND OF is a member of Wissensfabrik.

  • TechLabs,

    TechLabs Düsseldorf offers young people a platform to learn state-of-the-art tech skills.

  • Startupjoblist.com,

    Startupjoblist.com is a platform for startup jobs in Germany. You can search for jobs there, or upload job offers as a startup.

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Community

Slide 1 of 14

  • RWTH Aachen University,

    Among Europe's foremost tech and sciences universities.

  • KölnBusiness,

    The newly founded City of Cologne’s business development agency. Can help startups for example in all relevant city administration-related concerns or with the search for work space.

  • WHU, Otto Beisheim School of Managemet,

    The most entrepreneurial business school in Germany.

  • University of Cologne,

    One of Germany‘s largest and most renowned universities.

  • Pirate Summit,

    Europe's largest invitation-only conference for early-stage startups, investors, and corporate executives.

  • Wissensfabrik,

    Club of about 140 German corporates and foundations committed to encouraging MINT and entrepreneurial education in schools and to supporting startups. FOND OF is a member of Wissensfabrik.

  • TechLabs,

    TechLabs Düsseldorf offers young people a platform to learn state-of-the-art tech skills.

  • RWTH Aachen University,

    Among Europe's foremost tech and sciences universities.

  • WHU, Otto Beisheim School of Managemet,

    The most entrepreneurial business school in Germany.

  • University of Cologne,

    One of Germany‘s largest and most renowned universities.

  • Pirate Summit,

    Europe's largest invitation-only conference for early-stage startups, investors, and corporate executives.

  • Wissensfabrik,

    Club of about 140 German corporates and foundations committed to encouraging MINT and entrepreneurial education in schools and to supporting startups. FOND OF is a member of Wissensfabrik.

  • TechLabs,

    TechLabs Düsseldorf offers young people a platform to learn state-of-the-art tech skills.

  • Startupjoblist.com,

    Startupjoblist.com is a platform for startup jobs in Germany. You can search for jobs there, or upload job offers as a startup.

Previous
Next

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