Startup events in Hamburg and beyond this year

Female entrepreneurs, and women aiming to be one, are at the focus at the new Female Founders Festival on 23 and 24 February. This year, NCA Innovation Day is being held on 29 February. Startups and corporates gather at this pitch event to enter into new partnerships. The Hamburg Games Conference, bringing together players on the international games scene on 5 and 6 March marks the start of the industry gatherings. A creative business get-together is being held virtually at the same time, with the German Creative Economy Summit on 6 and 7 March. Shortly afterwards, top food trade fair Internorga opens its doors between 8 and 12 March, and on 12 and 13 March, founders can find out about innovations in digital trends at the D3con conference of experts. The best female founders in the categories Commerce, Tech and Impact will be selected in the finals of Hamburg's Female Founder on 14 March. 

After up-and-coming talents, young executives and startups gather at the Chef Treff Gripfel on 26 and 27 April, on 7 and 8 May, tens of thousands of visitors will flood the halls of the Hamburg Messe to participate in the OMR Festival, a major international event on digital marketing and technology. Two more significant trade fair dates follow with the Aircraft Interiors Expo aviation trade fair between 28 and 30 May and the Procurement Summit for digitalisation and innovation in procurement between 12 and 13 June). The date for Startup Port Community Day 2024 has now also been fixed. This networking event focusing on knowledge-based launches in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region is being held on 13 June. The sustainable food scene is convening at the Food Innovation Camp in the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce on 17 June.

Looking ahead to the second half, some dates have already been set: On 7 September, Aidia Pitch will once again be devoted to female startup founders in the Black Community, innovations in the food sector will be showcased at the Open Mouth Festival from 12 to 16 September, and the Next Conference will devote itself to trends in the digital sector during the Reeperbahn Festival, to be held between 18 and 21 September. The focus at Blockchance in the CCH will be everything concerning the theme Web 3.0, which is being held between 16 and 18 October. The Online Careers Day for jobs in the digital sector is taking place at the same time on 17 October. And the Hydrogen Technology Expo Europe international conference of experts will bring together major players in the sector.

Outside the city limits as well, there are national and international dates that players in the startup sector should not miss. The SXSW digital and creative festival in Austin (Texas) provides a showcase to many newcomers between 8 and 16 March. And at the Hannover Messe from 22 to 26 April, startups from various sectors will be represented. Berlin's Greentech Festival puts the focus on sustainable technologies from 15 to 17 May. In the second half of the year, a major networking event in the shape of Dmexco for movers and shakers in the digital economy, marketing and innovation is being held on 18 and 19 September. Two important dates have also been set down for Munich: Bits & Pretzels is on at the same time as the Oktoberfest – from 29 September to 1 October. And the international trade fair for real estate and investment, Expo Real, is opening its doors from 7 to 9 October. Two more international highlights follow in November with the Web Summit in Lisbon and the Slush startup conference in Helsinki. 
mj/fw/sb/rm