Federal Minister Reiche's first appearance before a startup audience: "The belief in one's own vision is greater"

On the seventeenth day of her term in office, Katherina Reiche spoke at the German Startup Awards ceremony. It was a signal: The new Minister of Economic Affairs takes startups seriously.

It was the new Federal Minister of Economic Affairs, Katherina Reiche (CDU),'s first appearance before a purely startup crowd. At the opening of the Startup Association's German Startup Awards gala, she delivered a speech to around 500 guests – mostly founders, investors, and other prominent figures from the startup ecosystem. In her speech, the minister listed eight points on how the conditions for startups and company formation in Germany can be improved. All of them were enthusiastically nodded at by the audience. Some were also included in the CDU's election manifesto , others in the "Innovation Agenda 2030," which the Startup Association, under the leadership of CEO Verena Pausder, had already presented a few months ago.

Reiche also believes that Germany needs a one-stop-shop solution for startups, pointing out that in Estonia , it takes less than an hour to establish a company, whereas in Germany it takes an average of six weeks. Hiring foreign specialists must be made easy. In this context, she spoke of a "work & stay agency." And English as the common language in German government agencies is also a necessity in this context, the minister said.

Reiche also addressed the topic of investments: "Growth requires risk," she said. Because without risk—or more precisely, venture capital—startups will sooner or later take their innovations abroad to continue growing there. According to Reiche, this is "like simply handing over the fruits of your harvest at the garden fence." She encouraged initiatives such as the Zukunftsfonds (Future Fund ), which were driven by her predecessor, Robert Habeck (The Greens), among others, and addressed how government funding could be used to leverage private investments in venture capital companies.

When it came to the topics of deductibility of childcare costs and maternity protection for the self-employed – something she also considers important – Reiche brought her personal experience to the table. She herself has three children, she reports. When they were born, there were no convincing maternity protection regulations for her as a member of the Bundestag. A problem she can empathize with.

In her speech, she also spoke about her own experiences as an entrepreneur to the attendees in the tepee at the Chancellery. As such, she knows how complex and time-consuming applications for research grants or funding are—too much effort for startups.

At the beginning of her speech, the minister echoed the passionate plea for more positive energy that the chairwoman of the Startup Association, Verena Pausder, had made in her opening keynote. Everywhere she went in the first few days of her term, Reiche said, the mood was "gloomy to pessimistic." She hoped that things could be different for startups now. After all, it was already the same in the picturesque garages of Silicon Valley and is the same in the coworking spaces of this country: "Capital is scarce, doubts are great, but belief in one's own vision is even greater," Reiche said.

In her speech, Pausder had reiterated her desire for more "world-class 'Made in Germany,'" which could be realized if there were less bureaucracy, more capital, and greater support for entrepreneurship in Germany. To achieve this, Pausder had previously demanded, "startups must become a top priority." The fact that Reiche spoke at a startup event on the seventeenth day of her term in office could likely be seen as a sign that she is at least putting the issue on her radar.