Stuttgart Region

The Stuttgart region is the birthplace of the automobile. And the area continues to play a leading role in automotive and mechanical engineering to this day. It has also witnessed the development of an IT industry and a vibrant creative economy. These have been joined by the biotechnology, environmental technology and financial services industries. Overall, the Stuttgart region is one of the best-performing economic regions in the world and is characterised by a mix of global players and innovative medium-sized companies.

In addition to this economic strength, it also boasts a great research and higher-education landscape that cooperates closely with local companies. 45 % of the research and development capacity of the whole state is concentrated in this location. In terms of third-party funding obtained, Stuttgart University was the most successful university in Germany in 2017, recording a total of 732,000 Euro per professor. In the Stuttgart region, there are two dozen universities, colleges and academies, around 62,000 students, four Fraunhofer Institutes, a Fraunhofer information centre, two Max Planck Institutes, numerous renowned research and development centres from the private sector and more than a dozen regional competence and innovation centres founded thanks to support from the economy, science and the public sector. These share the objective of forming clusters of innovative talents and converting outstanding research into successful everyday products.

Stuttgart and the surrounding area hosts a strong start-up ecosystem, thanks to the support of numerous partners. Major corporate players in the Stuttgart region, such as Daimler, Bosch, Porsche and many more work closely with start-ups. The Autobahn start-up, a consortium of several companies led by Daimler, is a good example of this. There is also a host of institutions that offer a wide range of support services for start-ups to provide consulting, training programs and events, locations and financing.

In the consulting area, this includes traditional consulting services from the Starter Center at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) of the Stuttgart Region and the Board of Trade Region Stuttgart or the Start-up Office for State Capital, Stuttgart. There are also programs specifically to support start-ups. Three of the Start-up BW accelerators (M.TECH Accelerator, Gründermotor and Sandbox Accelerator) are hosted in Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Württemberg. The Ministry of Economic Affairs of Baden-Württemberg provides financial support to early-stage entrepreneurs with funding from the European Structural Fonds ESF and EFRE. 

Research institutions, universities and colleges also provide services for start-ups and incubators (for example University of Hohenheim, Hochschule der Medien, TTI and Fraunhofer) and the extra-occupational Masters course of study entitled Intra- and Entrepreneurship (tech). There is also a diverse range of locations for start-ups, including everything from traditional office space to start-up centres and co-working spaces, in Stuttgart and the surrounding area (CODE_n-Spaces, Steyg, Coworking0711, G-INNO, for example). The Impact Hub (former Wizemann.Space) is now also represented in Stuttgart. The hub offers Coworking spaces and community events to start-ups and companies that work in the field of sustainable management. 

Financing is also an important topic for start-ups. The region is working constantly on improving the range of options in this area. In addition to the traditional financing offered by banks and the extremely dynamic network of the Business Angels Region Stuttgart (supported by the economic development department of the Stuttgart region), there are also VC companies and an increasing number of Corporate Venture Capital institutions that provide additional funding options for start-ups. The ecosystem also benefits from a tight network of international partners.

The Startup Stuttgart e.V. association has set itself the objective of driving the ecosystem forward in the Stuttgart region. The association organises monthly start-up barbecues, to bring entrepreneurs, start-ups and companies together in a relaxed environment. The association's Facebook page informs on current events in the area.