Finance City Hamburg GmbH (Finanzbehörde Hamburg, the Chamber of Commerce and Finanzplatz e.V.) teams up to strengthen Hamburg as a financial cluster
The City of Hamburg is launching FCH Finance City Hamburg GmbH, a new company to consistently and sustainably strengthen Hamburg as a financial cluster. It is a joint project of the Finanzbehörde Hamburg (Hamburg Revenue Office), the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, and the Finanzplatz e.V. association, based on the Masterplan Hamburger Finanzwirtschaft 2021–2025.
Headed by Britta Stövesand-Ruge, the aim of the new company is to bundle together innovative energies in order to spark impulses for Hamburg's financial and real economies, secure and expand Hamburg's position in the intense competition of financial locations, create incentives for new companies to set up in Hamburg, as well as to focus on Hamburg’s strengths as a financial location on a local and global scale.
Dr. Andreas Dressel, Senator of Finances: ‘With a strong local financial sector, Hamburg will be in an even better position to master the great challenges of our time, such as the digital transformation as well as ecological and demographic changes. That’s why we are launching FCH Finance City Hamburg GmbH, a new joint project working together to strengthen Hamburg as an important financial cluster. As such, we are realising a key point of the Masterplan Finanzwirtschaft. This cooperation is already successful in various aspects, and many of Hamburg's more progressive industries can already look forward to a new partner to provide access to capital and financing – innovation made in Hamburg, finance made in Hamburg. Mrs. Stövesand-Ruge is the perfect choice as head of this project.’
Dr. Malte Heyne, CEO Hamburg Chamber of Commerce: ‘An integral part of our location strategy “Hamburg 2040” is the active promotion of innovation. Strengthening Hamburg’s financial sector is the basis for a competitive, sustainable and dynamic economy. However, we cannot do this on our own, but only with the support of our partners. We have always had a close and trusting cooperation with the Finanzbehörde Hamburg and the Finanzplatz Hamburg e.V. association, and the Masterplan Finanzwirtschaft was the first step in giving this cooperation concrete goals. Thanks to the newly founded company, these goals can now be pursued more quickly and actively.’
Eberhard Sautter, Head of Finanzplatz Hamburg e.V.: ‘The newly founded FCH Finance City Hamburg GmbH enables the partners of the Masterplan Finanzwirtschaft to realise projects with even greater leverage and in a joint framework to increase the future viability of Hamburg as a financial cluster. We, as Finanzplatz Hamburg e.V., will combine the voices of the industry and actively contribute their know-how to the upcoming challenges.’
The Masterplan Finanzwirtschaft served to ensure that all stakeholders agreed on working together to strengthen Hamburg as a financial cluster and intensify cooperation. By founding FCH Finance City Hamburg GmbH, the institutional framework for this cooperation has now been established. FCH Finance City Hamburg GmbH will take up the topics laid out in the Masterplan Finanzwirtschaft, such as the promotion of sustainable finance and innovative FinTechs, the training of skilled workers, the expansion of Hamburg as a training location as well as cross-cluster networking site, and make them into concrete actions and projects.
Funding programmes for FinTechs
A central component of the new company is to ensure support for companies on the rise in the financial sector with the InnoFinTech funding programme. Just in time for the launch of the FCH, the Senate has decided to extend the successful programme until the end of 2025. The unanimous approval in the Wirtschaftsausschuss (‘Economic Committee’) of the Bürgerschaft parliament proves that our partners are on the right track. This brings the total funding for Hamburg FinTechs to almost €9 million. The programme has been running since March 2022. The programme facilitates the implementation of innovative projects for start-ups and young companies from FinTech, PropTech and InsurTech industries, helping them grow and establish themselves on the market. The funding programme has a volume of €2.1 million per year and is managed by Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank (IFB Hamburg) and its subsidiary, IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH. So far, 21 companies have been funded with a total volume of more than €3 million. The funding programme includes a grant of up to €200,000 per start-up, which can be used to finance up to 90% of the costs of the project, if eligible.
Background
The InnoFinTech funding programme, for example, is aimed: at start-ups that develop either app-based business models for financial transaction management, platforms for financial trade, or asset management (FinTech); at technologies for real estate management or the administration of properties (PropTech); or at projects to increase the efficiency of the insurance industry (InsurTech) (see attached list of companies funded so far).
Since autumn 2021, the partners Finanzbehörde Hamburg, Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and Finanzplatz Hamburg e.V. have made contributions to ensure that Hamburg is strengthened and set for a sustainable future in the financial services sector by implementing the goals of the Masterplan Hamburger Finanzwirtschaft 2021–2025.
More information on the funding programme:
https://www.ifbhh.de/foerderprogramm/innofintech
More information of the accompanying measures:
https://www.fintech-hamburg.com/agency
Press Office
Finanzbehörde Hamburg
Press Office
Tel: +49 (0)40 42823 1662
E-Mail: pressestelle@fb.hamburg.de
Hamburg Chamber of Commerce
Press office
Tel: +49 (0)40 36138 301
E-Mail: kerstin.kramer@hk24.de
FCH Finance City Hamburg GmbH
Tel: +49 (0)40 361 38 523
E-Mail: Britta.Stoevesandruge@finance-city.hamburg