More good news for Berlin’s startup scene: Google is opening a “campus” to support entrepreneurs in Autumn 2017. Aptly named “Google Campus” the companies goal is to support and mentor budding startups through an array of mentoring sessions, workshops, meet-ups and much more.
The “Campus Berlin” will be located in Kreuzberg, an area of Berlin that’s already home to a number of tech startups. To date, Google has participated in backing the Factory startup space since 2012. This, like the campus, is designed to create a place to fuel innovation, creativity and community. It’s also home to SoundCloud, Twitter and Uber. When the new campus opens in 2017, Google says they still plan to be active at Factory.
Berlin is one of Europe’s leading startup ecosystems
It’s not a secret Berlin is a mecca for tech startups in Europe – especially following the Brexit vote in June of this year. But even before that, Berlin’s startup scene was growing at a rapid pace.
“We are firmly convinced that the future holds more growth potential for entrepreneurs and we want to contribute our part,” said Mary Grove, director of Google for Entrepreneurs and Campus. “Our goal for Campus Berlin is to support the existing startup ecosystem even more and to promote entrepreneurship.”
They’ve also indicated that the emphasis of the campus will be to provide entrepreneurs with practical knowledge. As well, to increase diversity, Google is also planning to introduce programs such as “Campus for Moms” or “Founders over 50”.
This move can only continue to attract startups to Berlin
Following Brexit, a number of UK firms have already moved to Berlin – attracted by the cheaper cost of living, lower expenses and security in access to the more than 500 million people in the European market. In addition, even though it’s expected that people living in Germany would learn the local language, the lingua franca of Berlin’s startup scene is English all the way.
And this isn’t Google’s first campus
In fact, they already have six established in cities throughout the world: London, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Warsaw, Sao Paulo and Madrid.
Google campus in Sao Paulo:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNZgguZhnwt/?tagged=googlecampus&hl=en
“Since 2011, we’ve launched Campuses and formed partnerships that support entrepreneurs across 125 countries,” says Grove.
Google also claims that the startups within those campuses have raised upwards of €260 million and created more than 4,600 new jobs.
“We ourselves began in a garage nearly two decades ago and today we celebrate our entrepreneurial roots,” Google writes on the Campus website. “Google for Entrepreneurs partners with startup communities and builds Campuses where entrepreneurs can learn, connect, and create companies that will change the world.”
