Half-year results from Berlin Partner for Business and Technology

The best of two worlds come together in Berlin

Berlin has overtaken London in inflow of venture capital, unemployment numbers are falling and immigration to Berlin continues to steadily increase – Berlin's economy is on the upswing. Berlin Partner for Business and Technology's results from the first half of 2015 concur with this positive trend: Berlin Partner has supported companies in 141 projects that have created a total of 3,033 jobs in Berlin. This will lead to investments of approximately 223 million euros.

“The best of two worlds come together in Berlin: young as well as traditional industries and creative founders with digital expertise. This mixture attracts companies from around the world to the German capital,” said Dr. Stefan Franzke, Management Spokesperson of Berlin Partner for Business and Technology. With set-up and expansion projects, one in every three jobs is in the industrial sector. One example is BeanAir. The manufacturer of sensor technologies for the aerospace industry and the structural health monitoring of buildings moved its headquarters, including 30 employees, from France to Berlin: “Berlin is the ideal place for BeanAir to develop its international business. There are well-trained professionals here, aviation partners in the cluster, and very good connections to our worldwide customers,” said Damon Parsy, CEO of BeanAir. The second driver of Berlin's economy is the capital city’s digital scene. Even the company behind Doodle, the online appointment scheduling tool, decided to locate to Europe's digital capital: “The foundation of a German Doodle subsidiary is a logical step in our growth initiative,” explained Doodle CEO Michael Brecht. “Germany is a key market for Doodle – this is where our web service was used the most in the world in 2014. In addition, the dynamics and internationality of Berlin are perfectly compatible with the Doodle philosophy.” The first international subsidiary started in Berlin with ten employees.

Berlin Partner utilizes Berlin's appeal as a location with established industry and a booming creative scene in its capital city marketing measures. “These success stories of Berlin entrepreneurs are exactly what we want to transmit throughout the world. Berlin is a city of opportunities whose mix of industry, science and startup scene provides the best context for growth and innovation,” said Andrea Joras, Managing Director of Berlin Partner for Business and Technology. With the be Berlin campaign “Berlindustrie rocks,” 15 of Berlin's industrial companies were staged in creatively animated films earlier this year, for example. A project completely in line with the link between industry and the creative cultural scene: Each short film was set to a customized remix of "Berlin" by the band Bollmer in cooperation with Universal Music as well as 15 musicians and labels. The next move in the be Berlin industrial campaign is also dedicated to the best of both worlds. It is planned that a startup features an industrial company. For example, the 360-degree camera from the startup Panono is thrown into the air to photograph industrial sites. Or the 3D printing startup 3Yourmind uses 3D printing to produce industrial products made in Berlin.

Berlin Partner also promotes this targeted networking of both worlds via matching events. In 2015, there have already been more than 30 events to bring together startups and established business and science. One such example is Demo Day by B!Gründet and Berlin Partner where about 100 industry representatives met with 30 Berlin university startups. A special kind of meeting is planned for later this year: At “Rocket Ventures meets Adlershof,” digital startups from the Rocket family will meet tech startups from Adlershof – an exciting combination of two worlds.