Migrant Founders Monitor: 23% of unicorn founders come from abroad
What significance does immigration have for Germany as a startup location? The Migrant Founders Monitor, which was published for the fourth time in 2025, explores this question. The study, initiated by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the German Startups Association, shows what drives founders with a history of migration and where there is still room for improvement.
Immigrant founders are particularly ambitious
14% of founders of startups in Germany were born abroad. Among companies valued in the billions, known as unicorns, the proportion is as high as 23%. This is one of the key findings of the recently published Migrant Startup Monitor, a spin-off of the German Startup Monitor, which incorporates the statements of 255 respondents with a history of immigration. There are several explanations for the success of these founders. For example, 91% of them have a university degree, 56% of them in STEM subjects. These are above-average values, as are their self-assessments regarding strengths such as resilience (57%), vision (54%) and willingness to take risks (44%).
The assessment of Germany as a business location is ambivalent. Criteria such as quality of life and security & stability are rated positively with 80% approval in each case. At the other end of the scale is the level of taxes and duties with 8%. Compared to the USA, only 34% of respondents favour Germany. However, the survey took place before the presidential election. 55% gave a good score for social openness. The differences between East and West as well as the most populous metropolises and the rest of the country are striking. Hamburg scored 59%, well behind the leader Cologne (74%). Overall, there is still room for improvement in terms of integration into existing networks and raising capital. But this does not appear to be an insurmountable hurdle, as the high proportion of unicorns suggests.
