Start-Up Events In Germany In 2023

“Creativity is Thinking Up New Things. Innovation Is Doing New Things” – Theodore Levitt

Are you a (migrant) entrepreneur, a (co-)founder, a start-up and/or an SME on your way to Germany or in Germany? Then you may be curious what to expect in 2023 – and maybe, what to pursue, observe and get inspired by! Have a look at the following events to guide you through Germany’s 2023 events in the start-up ecosystem.

Start-Up Award Ceremonies

1. The German Startup Awards

One of the events, which might be interesting to observe in 2023 – are the German Startup Awards (GSA). As in 2022, the GSA target “outstanding personalities of the start-up ecosystem”, who will be awarded numerous prizes such as that of the female/male founder, newcomer, entrepreneur and investor of the year. In 2022, the recipients of these prizes were Nora Blum, CEO of Selfapy; Jochen Engert, CEO of FlixMobility GmbH; Johanna Baare, Co-Founder and COO of traceless materials GmbH; Milan von dem Bussche, Co-Founder and CEO of QiTech; Natalya Nepomnyashcha, Founder and CEO of Netzwerk Chancen; Florian Pachaly, CEO of recup GmbH; Bettine Schmitz, Partner at Auxxo Fund Management GmbH; and Filip Dames, Co-Founder at Cherry Ventures. Whereas the prize ceremony of the GSA will take place in May 2023, potential winners were already nominated in October 2022. As in 2022, the award ceremony will take place in the TIPI am Kanzleramt, one of Berlin’s theatres. 

2. The German Innovation Award

The German Innovation Award (GIA) is an event, which brings forward winners across myriad sectors and within the following categories: ‘Excellence In Business To Consumer’, ‘Excellence In Business To Business’ and the additional category ‘Design Thinking’. From architects and designers to producers and agencies, there are multiple stakeholders which can take place and be nominated in this competition, in particular until 27^th January 2023. With Mario Theis, Head of Competence Center Revenue Management & Product at DB Regio AG, having won the ‘Excellence in Business to Business’ award (‘Aviation, Maritime & Railway Technologies’), and with Christian Beck, General Manager and CEO of the Raimund Beck KG, having followed suit but within a different category (‘Chemical Industry’), this award certainly brings together inspiring companies and personalities. The 2023 Jury of the GIA will be composed of Michael Kruza, Team Leader of Design/User Experience at the Innovation Hub of the Deutsche Telekom AG; Dr. Elias Knubben, Vice President of Corporate Research and Innovation at Festo SE & Co. KG; Anette Ströh, Innovation Manager, Charité, Berlin; Prof. Dr. Sascha Friesike, Professor of Design of Digital Innovations at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) and Director of the Weizenbaum Institute; Margarete Wies, Head of UX and Research at CARIAD; and Timm Jäger, CEO of EintrachtTech GmbH. 

3. The Venture Capital World Summit Frankfurt

One more event in 2023, is the Venture Capital (VC) World Summit, which will take place in Frankfurt, Germany’s finance hub, on 2^nd February. Bringing together international and local partners, the VC World Summit is known for supporting innovation across a variety of domains such as AI, robotics, blockchain, IoT, healthtech, foodtech and autonomous vehicles. Next to Frankfurt, the VC World Summit will also travel to Amsterdam, Zurich, Paris and London in 2023. Outside of Europe, it will be hosted in a range of East as well as South (East) Asian locations such as Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore and Shanghai and in Sydney, Australia. In other words, it offers a chance to explore the world and global investment opportunities together. However, the latter does not mean that it will sacrifice a commitment to supporting local development and empowerment “with Technology Insights and Opportunities with Human Capital Sustainability”. 

Start-Up Conferences 

1. Javaland 2023

Are you into Java and excitement? Then you might have heard of the Javaland event, which will again take place from 21^st-23^rd March 2023 in the amusement park Phantasialand in Brühl close to Cologne. As the organizers announced, topics at the 2023 Javaland conference will include everything related to Core Java and JVM technologies, enterprise Java, programming languages; cloud, container and infrastructure; architecture, methodology and culture, security, quality and testing; data, streaming and AI; tools, and UI and UX. What attendees can roughly expect from Javaland 2023 are – “100% Exchange [and] 100% Entertainment” among an expected 2000+ Java enthusiasts, 54 Java user groups, 160+ speakers and a wide range of other stakeholders. Tendentially, most attendees are either software developers, architects and IT-executives, but this should not discourage those in research and teaching and consulting to find like-minded individuals at this gathering. While the event is certainly useful for networking purposes, it also offers a Training Day on 23^rd March, where participants can immerse themselves in workshops if they pre-registered for this unique chance. 

2. Hinterland of Things

Similar to Javaland 2023, Hinterland of Things may be for you if you are genuinely excited about contributing to Germany’s digital transformation. As the organizers of this conference say, it is their aim to “initiate and orchestrate the sustainable transformation of [the] German Mittelstand” through the creation of a sustainable start-up ecosystem. The ‘Hinterland Alliance’ is composed of well-known companies such as Miele, Goldbeck, Dr. Oetker, Schüco and Tamaris Wortmann. Taking place on 14^th June 2023 in Bielefeld, Hinterland of Things has been announced to bring together 1,300 C-level innovators. In 2022, the conference hosted speakers such as Henrike Luszick, CEO at Bridgemaker GmbH; Dominik Witt, COO at Phaina; Maja Brankovic, business editor at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Philipp Sander, Head of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center (FSBC); Axel Täubert, Head of Startups and Cloud Natives Germany at Google; and many more! If you are curious to connect with the 2023 speakers, start-ups, investors and editors from all around the world, then a trip to the hinterlands might not be the worst choice.

3. Blockchance 23

If you are more directly into blockchain, then attending Blockchance 23 would come along with the benefit of connecting with thousands of blockchain enthusiasts and experts who will fill up a trade fair space of up to 7,000 sqm hopefully with both creativity and innovation. Innovation starts when decisions are made, right? Located in the Blockchain City Hamburg, this event is sponsored by Ten31 Bank, the Binance Academy, Binance Labs, Figment, Valour, Deloitte and many more! Generally operating under the motto of ‘Blockchain for a positive Future’, whether or not this may hold true, Blockchance 23 seeks to debate whether and how “[b]lockchain technology can give us back control […] by allowing us to ensure the integrity, availability and authenticity of data by the public domain”. Curious about how private and public life intersect and what blockchain may be able to deliver? Critical of it being a solution? Then it might be an idea to discuss the concept of ‘trust’ at Blockchance 23 with other passionate individuals, professionals and leaders in this area.

Centurion Plus

Are you a start-up or an SME with an interest in contributing to sustainable and/or social change somewhere between Germany and Africa? Then our team will gladly and competently support you with legal matters! We specialize in supporting multicultural businesses in Germany as well as African businesses in Germany and in supporting businesses in various African jurisdictions. Our services start with assistance with immigration and relocation matters and don’t stop there – tax, tech, intellectual property…you heard us! We offer comprehensive legal support on all kinds of issues. Contact us today to learn more and discuss your concerns!