German Startup Association publishes Innovation Agenda 2030
The Bundesverband Deutsche Startups (German Startup Association) recently published its ‘Innovation Agenda 2030 - World Class Made in Germany’. It contains concrete proposals on how Germany can expand its innovative strength and secure future prosperity.
Key demands: more venture capital and less bureaucracy
Among other things, the association is calling for a tripling of venture capital investments by 2030 in order to close the annual financing gap of around 30 billion euros in Germany. To achieve this, it is necessary to mobilise more private capital for the venture capital asset class, especially from institutional investors such as insurance companies. The capital market also needs to be strengthened. Another central concern of the agenda is the recruitment and integration of international talent in order to combat the acute shortage of skilled labour. This includes proposals such as the temporary reduction of income tax for new foreign skilled workers and the digitalisation of visa procedures.
The Startup Association also sees enormous potential in public procurement to promote innovation. 5 per cent of public contracts should be awarded to startups by the end of the decade. In the area of digitalisation, the proposal is to centrally coordinate and accelerate the federal government's digitalisation projects - for example by creating a Chief Digital Officer with far-reaching powers. The focus is also on realising the ‘Startup in a day’ goal: the entire founding process should be possible within 24 hours.
DeepTech, decarbonisation and diversity
Additionally, the 2030 Innovation Agenda frames the ambitious goal of making Germany a leading global location for DeepTech by 2030. At least 30 DeepTech unicorns are to be created by then. To achieve this, the association proposes improving the transfer and scaling of innovations from research and advocates easier market access. According to the startup association, young growth companies have a special role to play in the decarbonisation of our economy. The proportion of startups in Germany that address the climate crisis with their innovations is just under 30 per cent.
The topic of diversity plays a central role in the agenda as well. The proportion of female founders in Germany is set to rise to 30 per cent by 2030. A higher deductibility of childcare costs, adapted parental allowance regulations for the self-employed and access to capital for female founders and migrant founders are crucial for this.
You can find the top 10 of the innovation agenda summarised here and the entire text here (in German).
