German tech start-ups are even more pessimistic about the future than they were during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, according to a report released by the German start-up association in Berlin on Tuesday.
In spite of a minor overall improvement in business, the survey revealed that expectations for digital start-ups had significantly decreased. It cited a sluggish economy, a cautious investment climate, and persistent general uncertainty.
A little more than half of all start-ups (54.2%) anticipate favorable business growth, down about 18% from this time last year (72.1%) and much lower than the figure recorded in 2020, when 58% of young digital companies continued to have optimistic commercial prospects, according to dpa.
The political and economic turmoil and the changed environment on the financial markets have led to investor caution, especially in late-stage financing rounds, according to Gesa Miczaika, the association’s deputy chairperson.
“Since external capital is elementary for start-ups, this is currently causing uncertainty.” The start-up ecosystem is robust, however.
However, while the overall business climate in the German start-up scene has dropped from 52.2 in 2021 to 42.2 points this year, it remains above the low recorded in 2020.
Almost 2,000 start-ups were surveyed for the study in May and June.
The business climate for the sector is calculated in the same way as the Munich Ifo Institute’s well-known economic barometer.
According to the study, financing bottlenecks (43.8%) and a lack of skilled workers (35.3%) are seen as key obstacles in the sector at present.
