Foundation compact

The measures to combat the pandemic and the structural change in some sectors are also putting a lot of pressure on the regional economy in the Hannover area, but there is also good news thanks to the outstanding cooperation between hannoverimpuls and the Employment Agency with the support of the Hannover Region in "Gründung kompakt": The number of start-ups remains high!

Hanover, May 10, 2021:Innovation is the engine of a flourishing economy and is more important than ever, especially in times of crisis. Start-ups offer founders new prospects out of unemployment, create jobs - and also bring new offerings to the market and consumers.

Almost 350 participants in more than 30 start-up seminars since 2018 - and many of them start-ups: This is what a success story looks like. "The high demand for Gründung kompakt shows that the alliance between hannoverimpuls and the Employment Agency with subsidies from the Hannover Region is a powerful instrument on the market and for Hannover as a business location. Our joint tool is a perfect fit - and mobilizes a tremendous amount of creative, entrepreneurial potential," says Doris Petersen, Managing Director of hannoverimpuls, summing up the effects of Gründung kompakt - and also underlines the importance of the instrument in the economic fight against the effects of the pandemic in the region. The cooperation has been running since 2018 and was extended until the end of 2021 due to its success.

"Gründung kompakt offers every individual real prospects. Participants take their professional lives into their own hands - and take on social responsibility instead of having to rely on transfer payments such as unemployment benefit I. This has an incredibly inspiring effect in critical life situations, for example when my job has been lost due to structural change or other causes, and releases new energy," says Heike Döpke, Managing Director of the Employment Agency in Hanover, emphasizing the importance of this joint offer from hannoverimpuls and the Employment Agency.

"For me, taking part in Gründung kompakt during my parental leave was really worth its weight in gold," says Pia-Céline Delfau, who has been passing on her special expertise as a psychologist and dog training consultant in her own company "Wegbegleiter - Psychologisches Coaching für Menschen mit Hund" since December 2019: "It was important for me to get a feel for numbers. How do I find the right price for my service? And how do I deal with the fact that there are seasonally weaker months?"

Julian Rakowski, who travels around Hanover with his mobile ice cream parlor, has also used Gründung kompakt to turn his entrepreneurial idea into a real business concept. He has been enriching Hanover's culinary scene with his offer since April 2020.

The path from unemployment to self-employment is not a sure-fire success, but it can open up completely new career opportunities that require entrepreneurial know-how. The hannoverimpuls compact start-up program on behalf of the Federal Employment Agency comprises two phases: a start-up check and a four-week start-up workshop. In the start-up check, experts work with the prospective founders to review their business idea and compare their qualifications and personal ideas with the requirements of self-employment. The two- to four-hour consultation identifies the customers who will actually benefit from the workshop.

The second phase of Gründung kompakt, a four-week start-up workshop, is like an intensive course for entrepreneurs: Interested parties are given the tools to create their business concept. The prerequisite for participation - after the start-up check - is registration through the employment agency. Supported by experienced start-up coaches and lecturers, participants develop the foundations for their business plan. The combination of training, coaching and individual advice makes the workshop particularly effective. As an alternative to the group workshop, hannoverimpuls offers a four-week intensive individual coaching ("Gründung intensiv") if participation in the group seminar is not possible.

"The program has been running successfully since 2018 and is more important than ever these days. That is why we have been happy to support this innovative and important offer for the location right from the start," explains Ulf-Birger Franz, Head of Economic Affairs for the Hannover Region.

The four-week seminar is currently being held in a mixed format of online and face-to-face events. Only in April 2020 was the uncertainty caused by the pandemic reflected in a lower number of participants - since then, the willingness to set up a business has been impressively high and, at 71.9% of new start-ups* by participants, is far above the success rates of regular start-up advice, where the start-up rate is around 50%. Participation in Gründung kompakt thus prepares participants well for the market - and the prospect of a start-up grant from the Federal Employment Agency also increases the likelihood of implementation.

* Result of a telephone survey of 146 people who took part in Gründung kompakt from 2018 to the end of 2019.

Start-up compact - facts and figures:

Since the start of the project in 2018, more than 30 start-up seminars (nine per year) have been held with a total of 348 participants (94 participants in 2018, 111 participants in 2019, 143 participants in 2020).hannoverimpuls' two-year cooperation with the Employment Agency from 2018 was extended for a further two years until December 2021 due to its effectiveness. The Hannover Region has subsidized the project from the outset.1,000 initial consultations on the topic of starting a business from unemployment have been carried out since the project began.71.9 percent of the 175 respondents to a follow-up telephone survey stated that they had subsequently founded a business. 15.7 percent of participants since 2018 are still planning or implementing their start-up project. 12.3 percent have abandoned the start-up process. (Result of telephone surveys of 175 people who have taken part in Gründung kompakt since 2018.)In addition to the start-up seminar and further support from hannoverimpuls, founders can claim unemployment benefit I as an insurance benefit - and receive a start-up grant from the Federal Employment Agency for the initial period of their self-employment according to certain criteria.

Contact for interested parties:

If you are interested in participating, please contact the employment agency in the Hannover region. If you have any questions, please contact thehannoverimpulsStart-up& Entrepreneurshipteam.