Look at these cities economy: Is Hamburg's self-assurance a danger?

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Hamburg had established itself in the self-assurance that the Hanseatic city was one of the richest and most livable places in the world.

But prosperity is at risk, the pandemic rigorously exposes Hamburg's weaknesses.

Ironically, the sectors that were booming before the spread of the corona virus were hit hardest by the epidemic: the aviation industry, tourism, and gastronomy.

The port, on the other hand, has been battling stagnation in freight traffic for years, and competition in the region is getting tougher.

Where should Hamburg and its economy be headed in a world that is changing ever faster?

The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce wants to find answers.

In mid-December, she presented the start of the “Hamburg 2040” strategy.

A survey in which 3,200 of its 170,000 member companies took part serves as the basis for this.

“The companies see the greatest challenges for Hamburg in the areas of transport, climate protection and innovation.

There is a lot of catching up to do, especially when it comes to innovation, ”said Malte Heyne, Managing Director of the Chamber of Commerce, WELT AM SONNTAG since June.

"Many of the companies and experts surveyed also see thinking within Hamburg's national borders as a deficit."

These cities could be role models

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After years of internal battles with the "chamber rebels", Germany's formerly strongest chamber wants to be a motor for Hamburg's development again.

The plenum, newly elected in February, is driving this forward together with the main office.

One tool for the “Hamburg 2040” strategy is an analysis of how cities in other countries became international pioneers in certain topics - because Hamburg tends to focus on its own success in particular: “In Hamburg there is often a certain degree of saturation discussed, also with the will to change and the innovative capacity of the economy - we get a lot of positive feedback that we are addressing this topic more intensively, ”says Heyne.

"Ultimately, however, this is a social discourse that has to be conducted across the board."

The chamber commissioned Statista to find cities that do outstanding things - and that could also be role models for Hamburg.

The result is ten profiles: Cork in Ireland, for example, is a pioneer in promoting lifelong learning, Tel Aviv in the development of digital medical technologies, and Akita in Japan in integrating older people into city life.

Paris relies on the accessibility of all important everyday goals within 15 minutes, Rotterdam is building on the generation, use and transport of hydrogen around the port and on the logistics processes of the future.

“We identified these ten cities together with Statista in a multi-stage process.

First, we defined the topics, such as mobility, hydrogen and renewable energies or the development and use of artificial intelligence, ”says Heyne.

"We are at the beginning of our Hamburg 2040 strategy and we need inspiration for it."

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Hamburg's global network needs to be expanded, says Heyne.

Hamburg's political and business delegations should in future focus more than just consolidating traditional trade relations.

“We have a long way to go in implementing this strategy.

One factor here can be closer cooperation with these 'trend cities', which can be expanded after the pandemic through personal contacts or business delegation trips, ”he says.

"In telemedicine, for example, it makes a lot of sense to deepen our existing contacts with Tel Aviv."

According to the Chamber of Commerce, Hamburg has all the means to help shape the upheavals of the coming years - if the urban players are ready to "get out of the comfort zone", as the chamber leadership put it in the presentation of "Hamburg 2040".

“Technology transfer into the economy brings enormous increases in productivity.

When it comes to setting up technology parks, where this happens very concentrated, we are sometimes ten or 15 years behind the leading locations in Germany, such as the Technical University of Munich, ”says Heyne.

“The X-ray laser center Desy is a beacon of science in Hamburg - but there is still a lack of start-up companies that can bring Desy’s knowledge to the economy.

The Senate made the right decision to create more technology parks around the universities and research institutions in Hamburg. "

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From the Chamber's point of view, the establishment of high-tech companies is a key factor for Hamburg's success.

"We now have to anticipate which next big trend will come after digitization," says Heyne.

“We see a great opportunity to find and give the necessary answers to the likely stronger 'biologization' of the living and working world with an already strong biotech industry.

Hamburg's economy should already focus on that today. "

However, Hamburg should do more as a location for start-up companies, because the competition in Germany is also strong: “We have a lot of money in Hamburg to support start-up companies and a lot of medium-sized companies with their knowledge and experience start-ups can be combined, ”says Heyne.

“In order to become stronger here, however, we have to better network the actors, also for the provision of risk capital.

We also want to play a more active role as a chamber. "

Source: WELT AM SONNTAG

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