Hamburg launches new funding scheme for fintechs

"We and our our partners, the Chamber of Commerce Hamburg and the Finanzplatz Hamburg have set ourselves the goal of supporting young companies in fintech, insurtech, legaltech or proptechs via the Financial Industry Master Plan, and thereby raising the value creation and job potential for Hamburg as a business location," said Dr. Andreas Dressel, Senator for Finance. This is where the InnoFintech funding scheme launched by IFB Hamburg comes in. The partners to the master plan wish to support new companies with settlement and networking issues. The Fintech Agency, launched by the Hamburg Invest business development agency, offers wide-ranging information and advice on finding sites, location and growth. The Initiative Finanzplatz Hamburg e.V. will broker contacts between start-ups and its own member companies. The Hamburg Investors Network (HIN) aims to establish a systematic matchmaking process for the target group to bring fintechs together with business angels and other investors.

A strong fintech scene is important for the viability of the entire financial centre in future, according to Dr Harald Vogelsang, Chair of Finanzplatz Hamburg e. V., and noted: "Hamburg is already a well-established fintech location in Germany and Europe with an above-average share of young fintechs." The InnoFinTech scheme can potentially support stakeholders according to their needs and offer other businesses an incentive to settle in Hamburg. The city has a particularly young and dynamic fintech scene, according to the German Fintech Report 2021. Around 61 per cent of fintechs in Hamburg have been in business for less than five years. Some 75 fintechs were in operation across the city in  February 2022, according to the Fintech Monitor.

The "Hamburg Financial Industry Master Plan 2021-2025", adopted in autumn 2021, by the Ministry for Finance, the  Chamber of Commerce and Finanzplatz Hamburg e. V., aims to position the city well positioned for the future and to strengthen the financial services sector in the long-term. To this end, new growth potential will be identified and exploited. The benchmarks are successful financial locations of comparable size and framework conditions throughout Europe. This should send an important signal to an industry that is central to Hamburg in the upcoming "relaunch phase in the wake of the coronavirus crisis", according to the partners.

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