When it comes to investors, Hessen is not an attractive location for start-ups: financiers invested 17 billion euros in start-ups in Germany last year, but the majority of this went to founders in Berlin and Bavaria, and this sum went to Hessen once 1.3 percent.

Falk Heunemann

Business editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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In order to change this, the state of Hesse is now planning a marketing offensive that is intended to make the federal state better known as a location and to attract investors.

At the same time, a focus should be placed on the promotion of sustainable business ideas.

This was announced by Hesse's Economics Minister Tarek Al-Wazir (The Greens) at a virtual discussion with start-up representatives on Tuesday evening.

"We want to make Hessen a 'start-up state'," said the minister.

1400 technology start-ups in Hesse

Berlin, Hamburg and Bavaria in particular have developed into fast-growing centers for start-ups, which have reached a valuation of billions and created thousands of jobs within a few years.

Large new companies are also emerging in the financial sector, especially in Berlin and Bavaria.

So far there is one start-up in Hesse that has a company value of one billion euros: the Clark insurance app.

Tarek Al-Wazir is convinced that it cannot be due to the site conditions alone.

In Hesse, every tenth of the 250,000 students study a subject with computer science, which is the highest proportion nationwide.

According to a study, there are currently 1,400 technology start-ups in Hesse.

There is also no lack of government funding, said the minister: “We have at least one offer for each phase of founding.

The state currently lists a total of 21 funding offers on a matrix.

However, workshops with 140 founders and industry experts revealed that there was a lack of networking, both between the cities and between founders and large companies as well as potential investors.

"We need a culture of cooperation," was the minister's motto.

Festival planned for investors

To achieve this, the country is planning an "internationally visible image campaign," according to a report by the Ministry of Economic Affairs presented on Tuesday.

"We are better than we even often realize," Al-Wazir said.

Among other things, a “Festival for Investors” is intended to help, which is intended to show venture capitalists that there are also worthwhile investment opportunities in Hesse.

"But of course we also need start-ups that you can finance," said State Secretary for Economic Affairs Philipp Nimmermann (The Greens).

In order to promote this, a new grant called "Push" is being considered, with which start-ups can receive up to 40,000 euros from state funds.

A new transfer center for artificial intelligence is to promote the transfer of knowledge between universities and companies and become a point of contact for investors.

In addition, Hessen wants to appoint a "venture capital ambassador" who will mediate contacts between founders and investors.

What his specific tasks will be and who should take on this task is currently being worked out.

Al-Wazir also wants to give more support to so-called green start-ups that develop ecologically sustainable products and services.

A third of all start-ups can already be counted in this sector.

However, they have particularly high capital requirements and are also disadvantaged in the markets because they compete with suppliers who often do not take into account the environmental impact of their products, said the minister.

The funding is to be provided, among other things, by a bimonthly network meeting and facilitated financing offers.

In addition, the new Frankfurt Impact Festival, which took place for the first time in 2021, is to be expanded regionally and expanded into an international start-up week.