NEW companies in Germany are more pessimistic in their forecasts of future business than they were in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, a survey by the Startup Association showed today.

Expectations of technology startups have worsened significantly, despite a slight overall improvement in business, due to the weak economy, cautious investors and continued general uncertainty, the association found.

Slightly more than half of all newly founded companies, 54.2 percent of them, expect positive business development, 18 percentage points less than in the same period last year. The share of optimistic ones is also smaller than in 2020, when it amounted to 58 percent.

Lack of qualified workers

Political and economic turmoil and the environment in the financial markets have prompted caution among investors, especially in advanced stages of financing, believes the association's deputy president Gesa Miczaika.

“Since external capital is crucial for startups, this is currently causing uncertainty,” Miczaika said, adding that the startup ecosystem is nevertheless strong.

The business climate index on the German startup scene fell by 10 points compared with the same period last year, to 42.2 points, but is still above the 2020 level.

Among the main problems, respondents highlighted financing bottlenecks and a lack of qualified workers.

The survey was conducted in May and June and included almost 2,000 startups.

Source: Index.hr