The Startup Association has presented the ‘Innovation Agenda 2030 – World Class Made in Germany’. With a focus on talent, financing and deep tech, the aim is to strengthen Germany’s innovative power and secure its long-term prosperity. The agenda calls for far-reaching political measures, such as strengthening the capital market, attracting international talent and promoting start-ups in public procurement. The association also focuses on pioneering technologies for decarbonisation and more diversity in the start-up landscape. An ambitious plan for an innovative future for Germany.
With its ‘Innovation Agenda 2030 – World Class Made in Germany’, the startup association has presented a plan to show how Germany can further develop its innovative strength and secure its future prosperity. The paper proposes concrete measures to better network research, skilled labour, industry and capital in order to strengthen Germany’s competitiveness on a global level.
The association’s key demands include the political reorientation of state competences and greater financial support for start-ups and scale-ups. The innovation agenda is intended as a guideline for a modern start-up strategy to promote technological progress and economic growth in the long term.
Focus on funding and talent
The association is calling for a tripling of venture capital investments by 2030 in order to close the annual funding 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. Strong exit channels are particularly important in order to facilitate more IPOs in Germany and Europe. This is because the numerous IPOs of German scale-ups outside of Europe are currently leading to a considerable loss of value creation for Germany as a business location.
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. In addition, the association is in favour of establishing a new Federal Ministry for Migration that bundles all relevant tasks and creates clear responsibilities. The introduction of English as a second official language would also send a strong signal of openness. ‘The shortage of skilled labour is a brake on growth. That’s why we need to roll out the red carpet to talented people. Our demographic development leaves us no choice,’ emphasises Verena Pausder, Chairwoman of the Startup Association.
The state is setting the pace for Germany as a centre of innovation
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,’ says Pausder. ‘This is innovation policy at zero cost – the state incurs no costs, but it promotes digitalisation and innovative start-ups.’ This requires standardisation and simplification and, above all, a startup-friendly application of public procurement law by the authorities.
In the area of digitalisation, the association proposes centrally coordinating and accelerating the federal government’s digitalisation projects – for example by creating a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) in the Federal Chancellery with wide-ranging powers. The realisation of the ‘Startup in a day’ goal is also in focus: according to this, the entire start-up process should be possible within 24 hours.
The future lies in deep tech
The Innovation Agenda 2030 also formulates 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. ‘We need to network SMEs and deep tech start-ups more closely. This is a win-win situation that also benefits our business location as a whole,’ emphasises Pausder. ‘The strict separation between military and civilian research should be dissolved.’
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 Startup Association sees the development of climate technologies as an important opportunity to continue the ‘Made in Germany’ brand with innovative and sustainable solutions. The aim is to significantly increase the contribution to decarbonisation by 2045 and pave the way for a climate-neutral economic system. At the same time, these technologies are intended to strengthen Germany as a business location. In order to achieve this goal, solid funding for cost-intensive technologies is required, as well as ambitious targets. The association aims to double the number of climate tech unicorns to at least 12 by 2030.
The topic of diversity also plays a central role in the agenda. The proportion of female founders in Germany should increase to 30 per cent by 2030. 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 in this regard.
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The Innovation Agenda 2030 – World Class Made in Germany was developed in a broad-based participation process of the Startup Association, which was launched in March 2024 with the intensive involvement of the 1,200 member companies. Almost 100 renowned experts in the respective subject areas contributed to the agenda.
In 6 chapters on the topics of talent, financing, the role of the state, DeepTech, ClimateTech and diversity, the innovation agenda contains over 40 pages of concrete proposals for action for policymakers. The focus is on setting the political course for startups and scaleups, which are bundled in a startup strategy for the first time in this legislative period and must be further developed in the next legislative period.
