Guest commentary: Germany needs a new era of start-ups
Germany's innovative power is finally supposed to lead to more growth. Minister of Economic Affairs Katherina Reiche suggests a fund for medium-sized German businesses.
In 1877, the Kaiserliche Patentamt opened in Berlin, marking Germany's late entry into the world of patent offices. The U.S., France, and Britain had already established similar institutions. However, Germany has since become a global leader in patent filings, with over 25,000 applications in 2024, ranking first in Europe and among the top worldwide.
Despite this success, Germany's economy struggles. The nation is brimming with ideas, but these innovations often fail to reach market dominance. Wirtschaftshistoriker und Nobelpreisträger Joel Mokyr has explained this phenomenon: economic prosperity arises when knowledge of how something functions meets the ability to build it. Germany excels in generating this knowledge. However, the country has become increasingly slow at translating research into revenue.
The current weakness lies not in the initial stage of value creation, at the idea formation, but in the scaling of businesses. This growth necessitates capital and a large domestic market. Germany grapples with both these challenges, and Europe lacks a fully integrated Single Market and a genuine Capital Markets Union.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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