Willingness to launch a startup high in Hamburg despite coronavirus

1 March 2021

Consulting enquiries remain constant - crisis provides impetus for self-employment

The willingness to launch a business in Hamburg remained high in 2020 despite the coronavirus, according to data by the Hamburg Start-up Initiative (hei.). The number of consulting enquiries from potential entrepreneurs also remained constant. The initiative, which is funded by the City of Hamburg and the Bürgschaftsgemeinschaft Hamburg, counts among the main points of contact for people interested in setting up a business in Hamburg. Many people also enquired about becoming self-employed because of the pandemic.

Crisis prompting new ideas

The coronavirus-induced crisis has provided an impulse to set up a company, the study found. Potential entrepreneurs said they wanted to use the crisis to summon up the courage to become self-employed. The risk of losing a job due to the pandemic was among the reasons given for wanting to start a business. During the counselling sessions, several ideas for start-ups e.g., special online offers, apps, product ideas and everyday help dealing with the crisis emerged and were prompted by the crisis.

Interest in "Consulting & Education" sector

The sector "Consulting & Education" accounted for 29 per cent of start-up proposals followed by trade with 25 per cent while media and creative industries as well as the IT sector accounted for 12.5 per cent of proposals respectively, according to the Hamburger Existenzgründungsinitiative. Nine out of ten respondents said they planned to set up a full-time business. Similar to previous years, women showed keener interest in information about launching a startup. At 68 per cent, they used the advisory services significantly more frequently than men.

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Sources and further information

www.hei-hamburg.de

Hamburg Business Start-Up Initiative (hei.)

The Hamburg Business Start-Up Initiative (hei.) has offered potential entrepreneurs free counselling since 1995. It is funded by the BG Bürgschaftsgemeinschaft Hamburg and the City of Hamburg. The hei. organises events and offers information on all aspects of setting up a business. These include the monthly start-up breakfast, live online chats with experts, regular workshops on business plans and the annual Hamburg Start-up Day. The initiative also provides contacts from the approximately 100 regional institutions and advisory services of the Hamburg Start-up Network.