Interest in starting a business in Germany has risen recently, according to the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), though the trend is also being driven by widespread concern about job security. "Almost four in ten of those interested in starting a business say their main motivation is fear of losing their job, given the economic situation and the transformation under way in many sectors," said DIHK President Peter Adrian.
According to the DIHK's Start-Up Report, published on Wednesday, the Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHKs) across Germany advised and informed more people about starting a business last year than in the year before. The number rose from around 151,000 in 2024 to just over 171,000 in 2025, an increase of more than 20,000.
At the same time, the DIHK pointed out that the proportion of people who sought advice on starting a business from the Chambers of Industry and Commerce "primarily for lack of alternative employment options" reached 36 percent, the highest level in eleven years.
"Against the backdrop of rising unemployment, uncertain job prospects and a growing number of insolvencies, self-employment is taking on the role of a fallback and safety-net strategy for many," the report states. It shows "a rising interest in starting a business, but not a broad entrepreneurial awakening," Adrian summarized.
According to the DIHK, a pattern has emerged over the years: businesses are founded more often in Germany during economically difficult times, "while in good times more people prefer employee status." In particular, in more heavily industrialized regions, the IHKs have observed "more start-ups as a result of current transformation processes." Employees are moving "out of industrial value chains and into often small-scale service offerings."
At the same time, according to the report, which draws on the experience of around 350 IHK start-up advisers as well as an analysis of the IHK start-up service, there are also many founders who are deliberately seeking to seize new market opportunities, for example in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) or security-related technologies.
"AI is not only making it easier for many people to move into self-employment, it is also opening up entirely new business models," Adrian explained. "That applies, for example, to robotics, communications and aerospace." Germany therefore also has the opportunity "to bring forth a new generation of technology-oriented companies, whose know-how can give our economy an innovation boost in many areas."
For this to succeed, however, "significantly better framework conditions" are needed, according to the DIHK. Start-ups need to be easier to found and should be given better conditions for growth. At the same time, this should "not only benefit the tech sector," the DIHK warned. Retail, services and the hospitality industry also need "noticeable relief", because it is precisely these sectors that shape "Germany's economic diversity."
The DIHK highlighted the rising interest in starting a business among women as a positive development. With a share of 44 percent, almost as many women as men are now coming to the IHKs for start-up advice. In the early 2000s, according to the report, this share was still around one third. The long-term increase shows "that entrepreneurship has become significantly more natural for women today than it was two decades ago," the DIHK explained.
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