Press releases

In recent years, Germany has tended to lose attractiveness as a location for investment projects. One reason is that commercial building permit procedures can sometimes take very long, making it difficult to accurately estimate total project costs.

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A total of approximately 360,000 new businesses were founded in Germany in 2024. Around 258,000 of them were started in the commercial sector, 7,040 in agriculture and forestry, and 94,900 in the liberal professions.

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"According to a recent short survey, the vast majority of managing directors in Germany’s Mittelstand sector are calling on the new federal government to ensure reliable and consistent policy frameworks – and to refrain from excessive regulatory steering. This applies in particular to the ecological …

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Approximately 360,000 new enterprise were founded in Germany in 2024. It’s not just the number of start-ups that matters for an economy, but also their long-term survival.

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The risk of insolvency increased across most economic sectors in 2024, but the highest rate was in the transport and logistics sector: 14 out of 1,000 VAT-liable companies filed for insolvency.

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A follow-up study from the machinery and equipment manufacturing sector shows that the overall burden of regulation (including EU bureaucracy) is higher for small companies than the gross return on sales.

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The number of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) using artificial intelligence (AI) procedures increased by 8 percentage points to 19% between 2023 and 2024.

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Die Anzahl der Existenzgründungen überstieg in 2024 in den meisten Wirtschaftsabschnitten die Anzahl der Schließungen. Ein solch‘ positiver Saldo, der eine Zunahme im Unternehmensbestand anzeigt, war im vergangenen Jahr vor allem im Bereich der wissenschaftlichen, technischen und freiberuflichen …

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Young businesses exclusively managed by women apply more rarely for bank loans than those led by men or mixed-gender teams.

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Die Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation (EFI) hat heute ihr neues Jahresgutachten an die Bundesregierung übergeben. Darin betont sie die Bedeutung von Innovationen für die deutsche Wasserwirtschaft, um den kommenden Herausforderungen begegnen zu können. „Obwohl Deutschland ein wasserreiches …

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Among the 267,000 companies in Germany that exported goods in 2023, 258,000 were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Their exports generated a turnover of € 277 billion – around € 13 billion less than in 2022.

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According to a survey of the IfM Bonn eight out of ten business owners see their enjoyment of entrepreneurial activity disappear due to the current bureaucratic burden.

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The clear majority of managing directors in the Mittelstand companies hope that the new federal government will provide good and reliable framework conditions – and fewer controlling directives.

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Friederike Welter, Professor of Economics in Siegen, has been confirmed as President of the IfM Bonn for a further six-year term.

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The topic of "skilled employees/demographic development" remains the main challenge for all companies. But the results vary depending on the size and sector of the company and its level of digitalisation. The shortage of skilled workers is particularly significant for larger companies and those in …

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