A Significant Number of Students Express Interest in Entrepreneurship - Few Translate That Interest into Reality - Numerous pupils express interest in launching their entrepreneurial ventures - only a small number actually take the leap.
A significant proportion of students in Germany aspire to establish their own businesses following graduation, according to a survey by the Startup Association. In contrast, just a fraction of these students actually implement their plans.
Out of 2,000 students surveyed in Germany, 20 percent expressed a desire to launch their own company, surpassing the interest in a career in the public sector at 15.5 percent. However, the majority of students (32 percent) prefer to be employed by a company.
The international survey, conducted in 2024, found Germany to be positioned in the middle globally in terms of startup interest. The Startup Association attributes the low number of students starting businesses to shortcomings in the education system.
Kati Ernst, deputy chairwoman of the Startup Association, stated, "Graduates contemplate their future careers during their studies, making it crucial to present entrepreneurship as an option and equip them with the essential skills right away." Ernst also highlighted the importance of integrating entrepreneurial role models into the education system.
The Startup Association discovered that 84 percent of interested students would have preferred more education on entrepreneurship during their academic years, while a minority (17 percent) had corresponding courses. The association views this as a missed opportunity, stating that tapping into the existing potential could significantly enhance Germany's innovative capacity.
Currently, around 3,000 startups are founded in Germany annually. If all students with an interest in starting a business followed through, the number of new companies would theoretically increase to 21,000.
Students expressing an interest in entrepreneurship seek opportunities to learn new things (92 percent) and find the relevance of their work (85 percent) significant. Income (75 percent) and job security (30 percent) also play a role, albeit less so compared to the desire for knowledge and relevance.
Moreover, the group of students interested in starting a business is notably performance-oriented, with over half (53 percent) expecting to work 50 hours or more per week. This aligns with the average work hours of founders, which stands at 55 hours weekly.
The challenges faced by migrant founders and entrepreneurs, such as accessing capital and developing local networks, despite high education levels, indicate broader structural problems in the German startup environment. Improving framework conditions, accelerating visa processing, offering multilingual services, and fostering an international mindset could make entrepreneurship more accessible and appealing, according to the Startup Association.
Entrepreneurial engagement through projects with tangible impacts, like those at ESMT Berlin, can help bridge the gap between interest and action. However, not all students may have access to such practice-based entrepreneurial training or networks, contributing to the discrepancy between entrepreneurial aspirations and actual startup creation.
Institutions like WHU demonstrate that robust entrepreneurial education and strong networks can transform student interest into venture creation and success. The disparity in access to such ecosystems or resources likely contributes to why many interested students do not end up starting businesses.
- To mitigate the discrepancy between entrepreneurial aspirations and active business creation among students, the integration of vocational training in entrepreneurship, within the community policy, should be emphasized, providing students with the necessary skills and resources.
- Recognizing the importance of finance, business, and education-and-self-development in nurturing entrepreneurial spirit, it's crucial that students are exposed to vocational training in entrepreneurship, particularly during their academic years, to foster a generation of innovative minds capable of starting businesses and enhancing Germany's startup landscape.
