Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany, the fourth largest economy in the world, and has an excellent infrastructure to promote innovative projects. With Europe's third largest seaport, an active airport and a prime location at the crossroads between Scandinavia and Central Europe, Hamburg remains an innovation hub for making business.
Successful business made in Hamburg
Hamburg is a major international trade, transport and services hub and one of the most important locations for industry in Germany. Global players such as Airbus, Beiersdorf (Nivea), HapagLloyd, Montblanc, Otto and Tchibo are located here.
Tradition meets innovation
Hamburg is an attractive location for growing startups: comprising 96,000 businesses, the services sector is Hamburg’s strongest industry. With a share of approx. 34%, the information and communication segment, including leading advertising and online marketing companies such as Facebook, Facelift, Google, Smaato and Twitter, is particularly important.
City of networks and opportunities
In recent years, the city has cultivated a supportive and inclusive business environment. Startups and scaleups come together in Hamburg and take advantage of the city's rich resources and well-established networks: Various consulting providers, research institutions and cluster initiatives support young companies in building a strong network right from the beginning. Startups can also benefit from a wide range of funding programmes and financing offers.
Scaleup Hamburg, a service offer by Hamburg Invest, seeks to future-proof local businesses by forging partnerships with cutting-edge international Greentech scaleups in order to accelerate the technology uptake in our city. As part of the business development agency of Hamburg, we support international scaleups with our hands-on approach and dedicated professional service which focuses on a successful startup-corporate collaboration.
Why Hamburg? With its strategic location as Germany's hub for mobility, logistics, and renewable energy, Hamburg offers unparalleled opportunities for scaleups to thrive. Its vibrant ecosystem, coupled with robust infrastructure and supportive policies, makes it an ideal destination for companies looking to expand their footprint in Europe.
Start your journey towards growth and success: Apply now!
Since 2022, Scaleup Hamburg aims to attract international GreenTech scaleups to come to Hamburg and convince them of our city‘s advantages. With a variety of services tailored to the needs of Scaleups in an expansion process, our soft landing programme offers significant advantages in terms of time and resources for setting up in Hamburg and tapping into the German market.
Application period: January 27 – February 23, 2025
Support in identifying potential partners in Hamburg's vibrant ecosystem through a local market analysis
Conducting an audit of the market entry strategy to ensure it is suitable for the German market
Collaboration with established companies in Hamburg to generate use cases for external innovation solutions
Deepdive into the Hamburg ecosystem during the mandatory Scaleup Weeks in June-July and November-December 2025
Connection with the right partners from the ecosystem and support in the preparation of business meetings
Free accommodation and office space in Hamburg
Quotes
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Tulika Raj
CEO SunGreenH2
“Hamburg's special location, the logistics, all this fits together very well. We can imagine coming for the long term and building something up in Hamburg.”Learn more
© Hamburg Invest: Tulika Raj at Plug&Play 2022 -
Antoine Welter
CEO & Co-Founder of Circu Li-ion
“If you are a scaleup in the fields of maritime, energy and logistics, the Scaleup Landing Pad Hamburg is the way to start in Germany. Their matchmaking has been essential in building the local connections to become competitive in the German market.”Learn more
© Circu Li-ion -
Andrew Woo Schill
Vp of GTM Strategy at MicroSec
“With the Scaleup Landing Pad we experienced a programme which is serious about how to scale startups to their next level. For us, it has been instrumental in providing us the right soft landing in a new market overseas to establish our base in Hamburg.”Learn more
© MircoSec -
Belén Moreno
Account Executive of HySiLabs
“The Scaleup Landing Pad helped us a lot to see the necessary steps and how to walk them successfully on the staircase of entering the Hamburg ecosystem and the German market.”Learn more
© HySiLabs
Have you founded a company abroad and are now interested in setting up in Hamburg? Or are you planning to establish a startup in Hamburg and want to move to the northern German metropolis? We have compiled the most important information here. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us. We will be happy to help you.
Building and growing your startup in Germany
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In Hamburg you say “Moin” – which basically means “Hello”. You can use it at any time of the day or night. In the rest of Germany, Hamburg’s residents are considered to be a rather cool-headed and reserved bunch – but really, we’re not that bad once you’ve gotten to know us.
Hamburg’s business culture is still heavily influenced by the city’s Hanseatic legacy, and the city’s locals have always valued the toil of manual workers such as port workers and market vendors.
Hamburg is not only home to global players such as Airbus, Facebook, Google and Nivea, but also provides excellent opportunities for the perfect after-work experience – e.g. in the legendary St Pauli neighbourhood. Even the Beatles kicked off their music career in Hamburg.
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Hamburg offers a wealth of beneficial resources and funding opportunities for entrepreneurs. As a founder in Hamburg, you can benefit from various support services provided by universities, startup centers, the Chamber of Commerce, innovation consultancies, and other public and private entities. Most of these resources offer free guidance and networking opportunities within the city's startup and innovation ecosystem.
Startup City Hamburg has gathered essential details for you on how to establish a business and informs you about the financing options accessible for new businesses in Hamburg.
You can find these information under Funding & Startup Support.
Working and living in Germany
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Being a city state, Hamburg’s real estate market is very dense, and especially short-term rentals can be difficult to find. You are therefore advised to start looking for accommodation as early as possible.
Relatively cheap and yet with good public transport connection: the districts of Harburg, Barmbek, Lokstedt, Wilhelmsburg… More “hip” and expensive are the Schanzenviertel (“Schanze”) district, Altona, Ottensen…
Find out more about Hamburg’s districts and on how to find a home during your stay.
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As one of Germany’s main startup hubs, Hamburg offers a broad range of coworking spaces and hubs. The Startup City Hamburg´s coworking map provides an interactive overview of all coworking and office spaces, hubs and fab labs available in Hamburg, alongside information on innovation parks and real estate in Hamburg.
Good to know before you settle to Hamburg
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If you’re planning on coming to Hamburg to live and work, you should be aware of any applicable visa and entry requirements. Please note that different rules may apply, depending e.g. on whether you are a citizen of a country within the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, or a citizen of any other world region.
To learn more about the entry process, check out the links below, with information provided by the Hamburg Welcome Center, or visit the Hamburg Welcome Portal:
· hamburg.com/welcome/entry-residence
· General information on the visa process for citizens of other states
· Requirements for citizens of other states wishing to set up a self-employed business
Note: It is recommended that you start the application process for an entry visa, residence permit or work permit at an early stage as it may take several months to complete. Typically, a visa has to be applied for in person at the German diplomatic mission in or closest to your home country. If you’re a citizen of an EU or EEA country, you have the right to live, work and study in Germany without any visa or permits.
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First of all you should look up general information for employers regarding different employment conditions and aspects to be considered.
If you and your Startup are settled in Hamburg, you can post your current vacancies on the Startup City Hamburg job portal and find smart people for your growing teams.
Contact our Startup Unit for a consultation
Advisory Session for startups:
Book a free startup consultation (by phone or video call on request, 40 minutes) with the Hamburg Invest Startup Unit.