Report on the Establishment of IHK in 2022: Emerging Enterprise in Rhine-District, Neuss
Navigating Challenges: IHK Services Support Start-ups in NRW Amid Economic Instability
The start-up landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the Middle Lower Rhine region is facing a complex array of challenges due to geopolitical tensions, energy instability, and economic uncertainty. However, the IHK (Chamber of Industry and Commerce) is providing valuable support to entrepreneurs navigating these challenges.
The IHK offers comprehensive consulting services for future entrepreneurs, designed to help them avoid mistakes and turn their business ideas into successful business models. One such entrepreneur who has benefited from these services is Tobias Rebenich, a successful figure in the personnel service sector. Rebenich sought and received an objective assessment of his business and financial plan from the IHK as part of the start-up grant procedure.
The current challenges include energy transition and supply risks, economic instability impacting financing and growth, the need for circular economy and sustainability innovation, and accelerated digitalization. NRW is a heavy industrial and energy-consuming region, and the conflict in Ukraine has led to instability in energy supplies, pushing startups to navigate fluctuating energy costs and supply uncertainties.
Efforts like "startup factories" and regional ecosystems in NRW are ongoing to unlock funding and cooperation, but the underlying instability remains a challenge. In response to supply chain disruptions and material shortages, initiatives like Circular Valley support startups implementing innovative circular economy solutions focused on resource efficiency, recycling, and emission reductions.
The war and economic challenges emphasize the need for accelerated digital adoption to sustain operations and reach markets effectively. The NRW government supports digital transformation, which startups must leverage amid uncertainty.
Despite the challenging economic situation, the total number of companies in the Middle Lower Rhine region increased by 1,246 firms. However, there was a decrease of 5.08 percent in new start-ups from 125,242 in 2021 to 118,879 in 2022 in NRW. The number of business closures also increased, with the IHK district seeing a 2.42 percent rise from 7,593 in 2021 to 7,777 in 2022, and NRW as a whole experiencing a 7.52 percent increase from 91,304 in 2021 to 99,829 in 2022.
Jürgen Steinmetz, IHK Managing Director, comments that potential business start-ups in certain areas such as gastronomy are more uncertain. Steinmetz calls for more political support to encourage young people to venture into self-employment, demanding swift, digital, and unbureaucratic start-up processes, simple access to funding, and tax simplifications for founders and small business owners.
Sebastian Greif, head of the IHK department of law and taxes, encourages entrepreneurs to utilize the comprehensive consulting services offered by the IHK before taking the step into self-employment. Future entrepreneurs can contact start-up consultant Bert Mangels for assistance by phone at 02151 635-335 or by email at [email protected].
Despite the economic challenges, Rebenich remains optimistic about the personnel service sector due to the great demand for skilled and experienced employees. Steinmetz emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurs like Rebenich, stating they provide impulses to established companies, animate markets, create innovations, and jobs.
The start-up report 2023 is available as a download file on the IHK website at www.mittlerer-niederrhein.ihk.de/30756. For more information, visit the IHK website or contact the start-up consultant Bert Mangels.
- The IHK's comprehensive consulting services, designed for future entrepreneurs, are catalysts for transforming business ideas into successful start-ups, as demonstrated by the success story of Tobias Rebenich in the personnel service sector.
- Efforts to leverage digital transformation and secure funding, such as startup factories and regional ecosystems, are ongoing in NRW to help start-ups thrive amidst economic instability, supply chain disruptions, and increasing competition in various industries.
- As the number of small businesses in the Middle Lower Rhine region continues to grow, Jürgen Steinmetz, IHK Managing Director, calls for more political support to simplify start-up processes, provide easy access to funding, and reduce taxes for entrepreneurs and small business owners, all in an effort to encourage more young individuals to engage in self-employment and contribute to the region's economic growth.
