The Startup Champions were selected for the fifth time this year. The competition is the result of a close cooperation between Berlin Partner, KölnBusiness, Hamburg Invest and Munich Startup/WERK1 and serves to network the respective ecosystems in the German startup hotspots of Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg and Munich. The approximately 9,000 startups based there have a total investment volume of almost eight billion euros. Together with other startups from all over Germany, they have developed into an important economic and innovation factor in recent years, which is becoming increasingly important both nationally and internationally. The pitch competition helps to increase the visibility of dynamic young companies and is therefore an important impetus for the further development of Germany as a start-up location.
The motto of this year's competition was "Fintech" and was thematically broad. This meant that all start-ups that combine technology and finance and thus offer their own target group innovative added value were able to take part. The twelve finalists included the Hamburg start-ups Finstep, Participayed and intuitive.ai. Finstep is an app for real-life financial tips for young people and children. Participayed is developing the first digital payment method for people in care. Intuitive.ai builds software that enables organisations to integrate their data, decisions and processes into one platform.
As the Hamburg regional winner, Participayed can now look forward to a ticket to the international startup conference Slush on 20 and 21 November in Helsinki and the regional prize from Hamburger Sparkasse, among other things. Hamburger Sparkasse invites the regional winner to the "Hamburger Gründerpreis 2024" gala.