Northwest Lower Saxony and Bremen have been shortlisted in the "Startup Factories" competition organised by the Federal Ministry of Economics under the auspices of the Universities of Oldenburg and Bremen. The concept was presented at an event in the Weser Stadium.
More than 100 entrepreneurs, pioneers, committed individuals and start-ups accepted the invitation to the Weser Stadium issued by the private-sector "hoi startup factory". It aims to provide targeted offers for founders who want to set up a company from a scientific background. The Bremen / Northwest Lower Saxony region already offers a very good basis for this, consisting of business and science as well as active start-ups. hoi stands for the North German "Ahoy" and can be understood as an abbreviation for "harbour of ideas" or "home of innovation".
Goals of the hoi startup factory
The hoi startup factory is based on a broad alliance in the region: excellent science at the universities, a high density of non-university research institutes, a traditionally cosmopolitan entrepreneurial community and broad public support for start-ups. All those involved see themselves as a regional, cross-institutional team and share the mission of providing start-ups and start-up personalities with sustainable support during the development and growth phase. A committee made up of members from the Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg, the Bremen and Oldenburg Chambers of Industry and Commerce as well as representatives from companies, established start-ups and the project coordinators is currently steering the strategic decisions of the hoi startup factory. The aim is to be one of the top five German locations for science-based start-ups with international appeal by 2030.
Science and business in harmony
"We clearly sense how strong the will is in the region to advance science and business together and to strengthen the economic and innovative power in the region through significantly more startups," emphasises Prof. Dr Jutta Günther, Rector of the University of Bremen. Excellent science offers an ideal breeding ground for start-ups from the region. In the medium and long term, the aim is also to make the region a centre of attraction for supra-regional and international start-ups. "We are very pleased about the excellent and close cooperation with industry," Günther continued. "We are focussing on the common goal of promoting start-ups from science." This is also confirmed by Prof Dr Ralph Bruder, President of the University of Oldenburg: "The hoi startup factory brings our regions even closer together and opens up new ways of working across borders with science and business."
Benefits for the economy
In addition to supporting the establishment of new companies, another aim of the Startup Factory is to promote established companies. Through co-operation with start-ups or contact with founders via the hoi startup factory, they gain early access to new ideas and technologies, for example, or receive suggestions on how to make existing processes more innovative, agile or sustainable.
The Startup Factory competition
In the current concept phase, the participants are developing a viable business model for a startup factory under the leadership of the Universities of Oldenburg and Bremen. This model can be funded by the federal government with up to 10 million euros over a period of five years. The second half of the financing must be provided by private funding from industry. After the funding period, the factory should be self-sustaining and permanently available to the region. The current concept phase runs until 30 April. By then, the hoi startup factory will submit a proposal to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection as a new entity. A total of around five to ten startup factories are to be funded from the 15 concept regions currently running nationwide.
Start-up support at the universities
Start-up support at the lead locations Bremen and Oldenburg is a success story:
The University of Oldenburg's Start-up and Innovation Centre (GIZ) has supported more than 600 start-up projects since it opened in 2012, from which 148 start-ups have been founded - many of which have been awarded top-class prizes.
BRIDGE - Gründen aus Bremer Hochschulen is a partnership between Bremen's universities and Bremer Aufbau-Bank that has been running for over 20 years. BRIDGE, which is part of the UniTransfer department, is the central contact point for students, alumni and members of Bremen's universities on the subject of business start-ups. Three modules are offered to provide support in all phases of the start-up process: Practical events, counselling and the CAMPUSiDEEN competition. The BRIDGE network records around 20 start-ups per year from Bremen's universities.
In addition to the universities of Bremen and Oldenburg, Bremen University of Applied Sciences, Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg/Elsfleth, Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences, Vechta University, Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, Constructor University Bremen and Bremen University of the Arts support the "Startup Factory" project for the north-west, also known as "Lighthouse Northwest".
