Case study: Hamburg’s Initiative for Business Start-ups and Innovation

Hamburg’s Initiative for Business Start-ups was designed as public-private-partnership to strengthen the demand of BDS by a training voucher system. At the same time, the supply was structured and made transparent in a catalogue and a directory. The large number of existing providers was oriented more towards business starters. The local government did not “crowd out” the providers, but took the lead in developing a network in a market-friendly approach. For the donor the system is an efficient and effective way to reach the beneficiaries without maintaining a costly institution. The attraction for the BDS providers is, that they are recognized by the government, get free marketing and earn fees with a new client group. After 10 years, the related network is an important information tool in the market. The donor intervention is relatively small, but designed to be permanent. The public benefits were kept clear and out of political party struggles. Pre-conditions for success were a high degree of demand and supply in a large city.
Paper by Karsten Weitzenegger 2005

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