The corporate initiative “Made for Germany” aims to ignite an economic turnaround, according to its founders. “As an alliance of many leading companies, we want to join forces with politicians to help put Germany and thus Europe on a growth path,” said Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing to Handelsblatt on Monday. This could also contribute to a change of mood in the country.
The “Made for Germany” initiative is led by Siemens CEO Roland Busch (60), Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing (55), and Alexander Geiser (49), head of the communications firm FGS Global. The alliance also includes major companies such as Mercedes, VW, BMW, software leader SAP, Deutsche Börse, Commerzbank, defense contractor Rheinmetall, energy powerhouse RWE, as well as financial investors KKR and Advent.
Siemens CEO Roland Busch told the newspaper that politicians needed “the courage to make structural changes” and that “big steps must definitely follow”. However, companies that “believe in the location and are willing to invest” are also needed. Both must come together quickly “in order to develop momentum”.
The Handelsblatt reports that 61 companies and investors have joined forces in the cross-industry initiative. They have pledged to invest 631 billion euros in Germany over the next three years. Representatives of the initiative will be guests of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) in the Chancellery on Monday.
According to Busch, the billions pledged are “fresh capital, but also capital that has already been pledged”. However, it is not the decisive point that long-planned investments are being presented again. "It is a positive thing when companies confirm promised capital and commit to the location. We regularly complain that capital is moving away.
We are currently seeing a real trend reversal here," he told Handelsblatt. In the interview, Sewing reported that investors from other countries are looking at the initiative very “attentively”. "They are saying to themselves: if German companies are prepared to invest these sums in their own country, we are also prepared to do more.
The head of Deutsche Bank warned that the German government must “massively accelerate” the approval processes so that the announced money is actually invested. “If it takes years to get approval for a location, then of course this part of the investment sum will not be made in that period,” he told the newspaper.
Busch emphasized that measures were also needed to combat the labor shortage. "We need all hands on deck. For example, we have great potential here with people who could work but are not yet allowed to." The government must also accelerate digitalization.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) sees the "Made for Germany" initiative as a signal from the business community to the government that the mood among companies in Germany is continuously improving. "We welcome the confidence of companies to invest in Germany and its jobs," Merz said on Monday. They are thus making an important contribution to greater economic growth and the future viability of the location.
At the same time, the initiative sends a "powerful signal" to international companies to invest more heavily in Germany again, Merz continued. "Our country is one of the most attractive investment locations in the world."
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