According to a recent analysis by the KfW, the number of new business start-ups in Germany in 2024 has increased by three percent compared to the previous year. A total of 585,000 new businesses were established, up from 568,000 in 2023.
The growth is primarily attributed to an increase in side-business start-ups, which rose by five percent to 382,000. Full-time business start-ups, on the other hand, decreased by one percent to 203,000. The challenging labor market is also believed to have contributed to the trend.
Start-ups made up the majority of new businesses, accounting for 83 percent of the total. The remaining 17 percent consisted of takeovers or participations in existing companies, according to the KfW.
Eighty-two percent of the new businesses were solo projects, with the majority being solo self-employment ventures, meaning companies without additional employees. Fifteen percent of the new businesses were solo start-ups with employees and 25 percent of the total were employers.
Around two-thirds of the founders prefer self-employment over an employed position and the majority (85 percent) intend to remain self-employed in the long term. Thirty-one percent, however, prefer a fixed employment contract and plan to be self-employed only temporarily, the KfW reported.