Dr Rolf Strittmatter, Managing Director of Hamburg Invest, commented: "These awards confirm that we have taken the right path with Scaleup Hamburg. Our range of services builds an effective bridge between the existing economy and the innovative startup scene in order to realise investments in innovation. We are particularly pleased that we are helping SMEs to remain competitive in the digital transformation. This sustainably strengthens the future viability of Hamburg as a business location."
Hamburg's business development agency Hamburg Invest was honoured for the third time in a row at the Startup Ecosystem Stars Awards ceremony of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Mind the Bridge organisation in Paris on Tuesday, 2 December 2025.
The Scaleup Hamburg service convinced the international jury in two categories: "Exceptional Industry Support" and "Best-in-class Startup Programmes".
The Hanseatic city is continuously working to strengthen its innovation ecosystem and promote collaboration between established and young companies. Scaleup Hamburg works with the venture clienting approach: local companies become direct customers (venture clients) of innovative start-ups in order to solve complex challenges with the help of unique technologies. This benefits both sides: Companies gain fast, low-risk and cost-efficient access to innovative approaches, while startups can acquire new customers and bring their business models to the Hamburg market. Medium-sized companies in particular can thus participate in dynamic market developments.
Scaleup Hamburg once again received the "Exceptional Industry Support" award for this systematic networking work. In addition, this year's support for participating startups was honoured with the "Best-in-class Startup Programs" award.
Startup Ecosystem Stars Awards confirm bridge between business and the innovative startup scene
Third successful participation for Hamburg Invest
The Startup Ecosystem Stars Award honours cities and regions that create outstanding innovation ecosystems. This is Hamburg Invest's third successful participation: in 2023, it won together with the city's venture clienting unit GovTecHH in the "Startup Programmes" and "SME Support" categories, and in 2024 the business development agency received the "Exceptional Industry Support" award with Scaleup Hamburg.