“Bavaria aims to become the top state for startups”
On July 30, Ilse Aigner marked the 20th anniversary of the Munich Business Plan Competition by highlighting its many success stories: “The Business Plan Competition has been a huge success,” Bavaria’s Minister for Economic Affairs said.
“Over the years, it has birthed around 1,600 companies throughout Bavaria. 11,400 jobs have been created and revenues of a billion euros a year have been generated.”
Aigner stressed that good business plans alone are not enough:
“We also help startups to find suitable investors and the right financing. The BayStartUP financing network gives startups access to around 100 institutional investors and 200 business angels. In this way, we are able to place seed and growth capital totaling between EUR 20 million and EUR 30 million a year.”
Focus on internationalization and matching
At the same time, Aigner announced further measures for startups:
“We are going to set up a system that matches established companies with new firms in order to place additional investments. I will also be focusing more on internationalization and scouting foreign markets for Bavarian startups. I plan to beat the drum for Bavaria as a venue for international startups. Our aim is to establish Bavaria as the top state for startups.”
© BayStartUP
The winning teams being congratulated by officials at the awards ceremony in Munich’s Wappenhalle on July 28. In the picture: Bavarian Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Franz Josef Pschierer (center), Dr. Thies Claussen, Deputy Chairman of LfA Förderbank Bayern (to his left), Dr. Carsten Rudolph, Managing Director of BayStartUP (far left) and Harald Wagner, Munich Business Plan Competition project manager (far right).
“The LfA has been a main sponsor for the Munich Business Plan Competition from the word go,” notes Dr. Otto Beierl, Chairman of the bank’s Management Board. “We also sit on the competition jury and provide coaching in seminars. Just how actively we are involved in promoting startups is shown by the fact that our development loans enable more than 1,000 company founders a year to go self-employed.”
“A diverse array of high-tech products”
Dr. Carsten Rudolph, Managing Director of competition organizer BayStartUP, has this to say:
“The companies that have emerged from the Munich Business Plan Competition reflect the strengths of the Bavarian startup community. They represent a diverse array of high-tech products as well as business models posited on rapid growth.
A series of IT, life science and technology startups from the earlier competitions have already completed successful exits. Their founders have now launched new businesses or have themselves become investors. In recent years, digitization has become a hot topic in all industries. And here in particular, startups have a lot to offer the large incumbents.”
On July 28, prizes were presented to the three winners of the 2015 Munich Business Plan Competition in Munich’s Wappenhalle. Go here to see the winners.