EUR 12 billion for German start-ups

"The WIN initiative is really good news for start-ups and for Germany. It will boost the German venture capital market and business location as a whole," said Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Young, dynamic companies are increasingly seen as catalysts of growth, which coupled with innovation, are key to their economic dynamism. Over the past ten years, the annual deal volume had risen from EUR 1.5 billion in 2013 to EUR 18.6 billion  in 2021 and to EUR 7.1 billion in 2023.

Initiated by Christian Lindner, German Minister for Finance, and backed by Scholz, and Robert Habeck, German Minister for Economics and Climate Protection, WIN now aims to generate further capital for start-ups and innovation technologies. The initiative is co-ordinated by Stefan Wintels, CEO of KfW. Hamburg’s start-up ecosystem could benefit from the WIN initiative as part of the EXIST competition Startup Factory.

Ten measures, designed to boost growth capital for the German ecosystem, are to be implemented by companies, sectors and the German government. The focus is on increased co-operation between universities, investors and companies, promoting solutions for first-of-a-kind financing (FOAK) and strengthening of fund-of-funds structures, according to the German government. The framework conditions for initial public offerings (IPOs) and EXISTs from portfolio companies are to be improved, as well as investments in growth and innovation capital. The German Ministry of Finance launched the first measures this summer with the draft of the second Future Financing Act.
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