On 08.08.19, Dr Volker Wissing, Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Economics, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture, visited us. As Minister of Economics, start-ups are naturally a topic for him - and we had the chance to ask him three questions about them:
While seed financing, i.e. the first investment in a company, is easy to implement, there is a lack of investors who subsequently participate with larger sums. Why is it so difficult to realise large financing rounds in Germany?
Dr Wissing explains that in Silicon Valley, for example, business angels often invest in several start-ups at the same time. They hope for the breakthrough of one company and accept that the others will go bankrupt. Due to Germany's orientation as a welfare state, this attitude is not justifiable. Risky and high investments are thus inhibited, but the long-term success of start-ups is promoted. Rhineland-Palatinate is trying to close the financing gap as best it can through subsidies and to create an entrepreneur-friendly climate locally.
Kaiserslautern is to become the epicentre of Rhineland-Palatinate's start-up culture in the future. How did this focus come about?
The availability of well-trained IT specialists is often
IT specialists is a basic prerequisite for the growth of companies. Thanks to the
University of Kaiserslautern, there are enough graduates right on the
on site. The focus on a start-up location in Rhineland-Palatinate should also
attract more attention from abroad and bring in more venture capital.
more venture capital.
... and what does the future look like for Mainz as a start-up location?
The state is not abandoning the other start-up centres, says Wissing, but they are to be concentrated on specific areas. While Ludwigshafen, for example, is the optimal chemical location, Mainz is characterised by its proximity to the university hospital and is thus particularly suitable for medtech start-ups. LIME is therefore at exactly the right address here.
Thank you very much for the visit!