Rhineland-Palatinate: Start-up landscape is becoming more female and international!

Rhineland-Palatinate: Start-up landscape is becoming more female and international!

Rhineland-Palatinate is showing a remarkable trend in its start-up landscape: the proportion of female and non-German company founders is continuously increasing. According to the South German newspaper In 2024, the number of business registrations remained almost at the same level as the previous year at around 34,500, while deregistrations amounted to just under 32,000. There were 10,501 women among the founders, which corresponds to a share of 33.4% and places Rhineland-Palatinate in the top third of the federal states.

What is particularly noteworthy is that almost 20% of the founders in 2024 had a different nationality. The number of companies founded by people from non-EU countries increased by around 10% and now accounts for 11% of all start-ups. Founders from Turkey, Syria and Ukraine are particularly active. However, there are regional differences: In the Trier area, start-up activity is below average, which is due to the tight labor market in Luxembourg.

Strengthening the startup culture

The Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHKs) point out that there is a backlog of start-ups in Rhineland-Palatinate. With 65 start-ups founded last year, the federal state ranks tenth among the German federal states. The hurdles for starting a business in the skilled trades are higher, especially in professions that require licensing. In addition, 68% of founders perceive bureaucracy as the biggest burden in the start-up process and there is a strong need for more digitalization in administration.

In order to support the start-up culture, initiatives such as the Rhineland-Palatinate start-up scholarship have been launched. The application deadline for the scholarship is March 15, 2025. The scholarship holders receive a grant of up to 12,000 euros for one year to support the substantiation and marketability of their start-up projects [ BDS Rhineland-Palatinate ].

In addition to financial resources of 1,000 euros per month, the scholarship also includes coaching and access to networks of start-ups and other players in the start-up ecosystem. The scholarship holders will be announced in mid-May 2025, with application documents available from accredited networks.

Conclusion and outlook

The development in Rhineland-Palatinate shows that the start-up scene is becoming increasingly female and international. Despite existing challenges such as bureaucracy and financing issues, there are positive approaches to strengthening the start-up culture. The initiatives, in particular the start-up grant, could help to further promote start-up activity and encourage more people to take the step into self-employment.