Germany has a highly developed ecosystem for start-ups, with many support services and funding opportunities. In this article, we dive into Germany as a start-up country and list 5 start-ups to keep an eye on.
Start-up nation
Germany has a strong economy and has many investors, including venture capitalists and angel investors. There are also numerous government programmes and grants available for start-ups. German minister Christian Lindner even said not long ago that he wants to make Germany a “start-up nation”. In 2021, a record amount of around €15 billion was invested in start-ups, ranking it 6th in the global ranking of countries.
Favourable regulatory environment and talent pools
Germany has a favourable regulatory environment for start-ups, with relatively simple procedures for setting up a company and obtaining licences and permits. In addition, Germany has a highly educated population and a strong focus on technology and innovation. This makes for a rich pool of talent that start-ups can draw from.
Location
Germany is a centrally located country in Europe, making it easily accessible to both investors and customers. In addition, there are numerous cities in Germany with a thriving ecosystem for start-ups, such as Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, with Berlin in particular standing out. Of course, there are also challenges for start-ups in Germany, such as high taxes and labour costs. However, in general, Germany is considered a very good place to start a start-up.
Recruitment tech start-ups
That recruitment-tech start-ups determine an important part of the innovative environment in Germany is evidenced by the fact that in 2021, over 26% of all European HR/recruitment-tech start-ups investments were made in Germany. This made it the second most important country after the UK for investments in HR/recruitmenttech start-ups. There are many interesting recruitment tech start-ups in Germany. Below are five of them.
1. Personio
Personio often pops up in overviews like these, but that is understandable. The Munich-based developer of HR management software and recruitment tech for SMEs is steaming ahead. It raised another €189 million in funding in 2022. The company is now valued at a whopping €8 billion and is one of the most valuable startups in Europe. It has been said that Personio is “one of the best SaaS companies in the world”. Plans for this year include a new workflow automation system, an even smoother employee experience solution and further growth.
2. Lano
Berlin-based Lano‘s recruitment and payroll offering is broad. They work with their clients to enable them to hire more easily outside their home country, and also offer remote contract management and employee payment services, visa management and general payroll assistance programmes. Where compliance is always at the centre. The Berlin-based company also entered into a partnership to enable employees to get part of their salary in bitcoin if they want. Founded in 2018, it now has more than 1,500 customers.
3. MoBerries
MoBerries, a recruitment service provider, uses big data to help companies rank job applicants. It also has features such as the ability for companies to recommend talent to others in their industry and is praised for its simple interface and ability to integrate with some of the largest HR technology providers. More than 10 different investors already put money into the company.
4. Talentwunder
Berlin-based startup TalentWunder uses AI and claims it helps both jobseekers and employers get better job and talent search results by making additional use of big data. It also offers clients a platform for managing the recruitment and candidate management process in one location. This approach has already won Talentwunder many awards, including the Digital Leader Award in 2019. Companies using its search engine and recruitment offerings include multinationals such as Amazon, Audi, Tui and Capgemini.
5. WorkMotion
Berlin-based company WorkMotion aims to help companies with the ‘War for Talent’. With Germany facing a potential shortage of two million skilled workers by 2030, the HR platform hopes its technology, which can recruit, employ and manage international workers, can help overcome this. Founded in 2020, the company handles international and local contracts for companies hiring abroad, and further handles all the various components of payroll and workforce management. The company now has around 170 clients and recently received multimillion-dollar funding.
