Start-ups : Migrant Founders Monitor

The Migrant Founders Monitor sheds light on the relationship between migration and startups in Germany. The central data basis is the German Startup Monitor, the most comprehensive survey on startups in Germany, which records the migration background according to the definition of the Federal Statistical Office.

The goals

Set a theme

The focus is on presenting the relationship between migration and innovation, with a focus on startups in Germany.

Seize opportunities

The strengths and challenges as well as the potentials of startup founders with a migration background will be highlighted.

Create transparency

While the field of start-ups is well documented, there is a lack of data and information on start-ups.

Results at a glance

Enrichment

In recent years, numerous successful startups have been established by founders with a migration background, including companies such as BioNTech, Auto1, ResearchGate and Qunomedical. The report examines this topic in detail and shows that, in addition to their high qualifications, migrant founders often bring with them the decisive entrepreneurial mindset, think big and are willing to take risks.

Remove barriers

However, the results also make it clear that there are still obstacles for this group, particularly in the areas of funding, networking and cooperation. Linguistic, bureaucratic and administrative hurdles must therefore be further reduced - this applies in particular with regard to government funding programs and in the exchange with relevant authorities.

Example: Migrant Founders strengthen international focus

Teams of Migrant Founders are internationally more diverse and are able to draw from a broader pool of talent.
75% of first-generation Migrant Founders plan to internationalise – more than in the general startup average (69%).
This impetus is important because many startups in Germany are still very much limited to the domestic market.

This pattern is even more evident among Migrant Founders with a foreign degree: 85% of them plan to internationalise.

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Migrant Founders Monitor 2022

Founders with a migration background are important drivers of innovation and a significant economic factor in Germany. The Migrant Founders Monitor is the most important study on the role and importance of people with a migration background in the German startup ecosystem.

Given the importance of migrant founders, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the German Startups Association 2021 jointly published the first Migrant Founders Monitor. It showed on the one hand how important Migrant Founders are for the economic fabric in Germany -- but also precisely where they need more support.

The findings from last year's report are clear on the matter: migrant founders provide important impetus to the German startup ecosystem. In order to shed more light on the strengths and potential of migrant founders, but also on any challenges and problems, we have commissioned a follow-up study. This study will again focus specifically on first-generation founders, i.e. people with their own migration experience.

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