Germany was one of 77 countries to participate in the inaugural Global Entrepreneurship Week campaign in 2008. Known as “Gründungswoche Deutschland” (Founders’ Week Germany), GEW Germany is coordinated by the RKW Competence Center – a nonprofit organization that provides advice for business owners and founders – and the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy.
The campaign has grown significantly over the years and is now considered one of the strongest and most successful GEW campaigns in the world. On launch in 2008, GEW Germany featured 120 events engaging 12,000 participants. By 2024, this had expanded to 1,200 partner organizations, 1,600 events, and over 100,000 participants. The campaign has won multiple GEN Compass Awards, including the ‘Brand Champion Award’ in 2012, and the ‘GEW Campaign of the Year’ in 2016, 2023, and 2025.
According to Stephanie Kropf, current head of Gründungswoche Deutschland at the RKW Competence Centre, the GEW campaign in Germany has helped engage ecosystem actors, entrepreneurs, investors and most importantly the government.
"Through Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the RKW Competence Center have been committed to strengthening the entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurship in Germany for 15 years now. The annual success is largely due to the great commitment of the 1,200 partner organizations. Being able to be part of this commitment – not only nationwide but also this exceptional international network – is of particular importance to them."
Beyond GEW, GEN, in collaboration with the Kauffman Foundation, has worked with researchers and academics from the Max Planck Society, RKW, GIZ, and universities including Flensburg, FSU Jena, TU Munich and TU Berlin through the Global Entrepreneurship Research Network, collaborating with peers globally to identify what works in entrepreneurship policy and practice. And the German Business Angels Network (BAND) is a member of GEN’s Global Business Angels Network.
Dozens of German startups have used GEN programs to speed their growth over the years. For example, eight German startups have made their way to the finals of the Entrepreneurship World Cup, run by GEN and Monsha’at, where they had access to free training resources, mentorship and exposure to potential investors. Deepfield Robotics, Conductiv AI, Noor Medical, Ecovery Holdings, BlinkIn, MindAhead, Salutes Space, and NepTune all reached the EWC 100 and pitched for a share of $1 million at the EWC Global Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
GEN President Jonathan Ortmans has been a regular speaker at events in Germany and provided counsel to leadership focused on developing its ecosystems. Germans have also been active in GEN’s other work in Europe, hosting meetings of the European members of the Startup Nations community in past years. In 2015, the German Startup Association, alongside Startup Britain and Startups.be, the Belgian startup association, came together to launch the European Startup Network as a result of their participation in the GEN Startup Nations Summit in Monterrey, Mexico. As members of GEN’s ‘Startup Nations’ policymaker community, the three members identified an opportunity and need for greater collaboration between national startup associations within Europe. The ESN has now expanded to support national startup associations in 27 European states.