According to an Ernst & Young report Berlin is European’s frontrunner in terms of the investments of risk capital in start-ups. Berlin’s venture capital rates in 2015 were higher than in any other European city for the second year in a row. Venture capitalists invested 2.1 billion Euros in Berlin’s start-ups and effected 205 transactions in 2015, that’s more than twice as much compared to the previous year. London gets second place with 1.7 billion Euros, followed by Stockholm (992 million Euros) and Paris (687 Euros). A crucial factor for this high investment volume in Berlin is the start-up-factory Rocket Internet. More than half of the venture capital investments in Berlin flow into participations of Rocket Internet.
‘The high amount of transactions shows that something sustainable has originated in Berlin’, says Peter Lennartz who leads the start-up section at Ernst & Young. An efficient and professional ecosystem has established in Berlin as it can show the highest growth rates worldwide while other regions in Germany aren’t able to keep up with Berlin.
However, German start-ups still have to experience difficulties finding higher one-figure multi-million dollar amounts after the first early stage financing. For German funds and angels investments worth more than five million Euros are too big as against international investors who start financing from an amount of ten million Euros.
Source: http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/wirtschaft/rocket-internet-und-co--berlins-start-up-szene-waechst-so-schnell-wie-keine-andere-in-europa,10808230,33568810.html
photo: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de