Sparkling Ideas: We Make Startups Shine

Imagine that a brilliant solution to a problem that had long seemed insurmountable in your industry or environment suddenly appeared. Like new metal composites that make electric motors for drones, cars, and trains more powerful and robust. Or glasses that help blind people find their way around independently – thanks to artificial intelligence and sensors that were originally developed for self-driving cars. Or a system for digital receipts that is fully compatible with all wallets and retail, banking, and payment apps and so seamless that any store can immediately deploy it for its customers.

These three inventions actually exist – and Messe Düsseldorf put them in the spotlight. Cast Coil is a startup from Münster that uses a casting process to manufacture coils for highly efficient drone motors. At XPONENTIAL Europe 2025, the company attracted a lot of attention from global industry players for this groundbreaking technology. The premiere of our leading European trade show for autonomous technologies and robotics offered a special stage for startups, the XPO+ Launcher. The highlight there was the Award Pitch, where Cast Coil dazzled the audience, winning second place. The winners are rewarded with mentoring from renowned companies whose expert advice will help them implement successful business strategies.

To build a wearable device for blind people using autonomous driving technology – that idea came from software startup .lumen, which at the STARTUP PARK at MEDICA 2024 got a chance to present its impressive invention to professionals from the international healthcare sector. Looking ahead, I’m certain that these high-tech glasses will be a great help to many visually impaired people.

At EuroShop, meanwhile, the startup anybill presented a solution to a major challenge facing the retail sector: Customers, as well as legislators, nowadays expect retailers to provide digital receipts instead of paper receipts. The problem with that is the proliferation of countless digital payment and POS systems. Because anybill’s digital receipt is compatible with all of them, it’s closing a gap in the system. The industry insiders attending our retail show responded enthusiastically to the new technology.

These three examples show why startups are so important for the economy and society: They bring fresh ideas and new technologies to the market. They develop products, services and business models that challenge or improve existing structures. Their innovations create new markets or change existing ones – and thus drive economic change.

How Düsseldorf is Creating an Ecosystem for Innovation

But startups need supportive infrastructure in order to succeed. Germany offers many advantages in this regard, including a stable economic environment, access to funding programs and a strong research landscape. Cities such as Düsseldorf have vibrant ecosystems for young and innovative companies. At the same time, bureaucracy, limited access to venture capital and an insufficiently developed digital infrastructure are holding back the entrepreneurial spirit. A shortage of skilled workers and a low tolerance for failure further impede innovation. Even though there’s a solid foundation, the pace of digitalization, financing and administrative modernization needs to pick up for the country to remain competitive internationally.

Messe Düsseldorf has set out to facilitate market entry for startups through industry-specific formats and systemic networking. Let me share just a few examples in that regard: The EuroShop START-UP HUB provides startups in the retail technology sector with international visibility by putting them in front of more than 80,000 attendees from the industry. At XPONENTIAL Europe, the XPO+ Launcher stage gives start-ups the opportunity to pitch to major investors, while the MEDICA START-UP PARK serves as a springboard for global networking in the healthcare sector. Plug-and-play booths at our special show drupa next age serve to lower market entry barriers for printing technology innovations.

Startups Are the Future SME Backbone of the Economy

Germany has the potential to become one of the leading locations for technical innovation – I’m convinced of that. And the German government is pursuing exactly that same goal with its WIN initiative, an acronym for “Growth and Innovation Capital for Germany” (“Wachstums- und Innovationskapital für Deutschland“). Working with the private sector, associations, policymakers, and the state-owned investment and development bank KfW, the initiative aims to significantly expand financing options for startups and scaleups – with the ultimate goal of nurturing the SMEs of tomorrow. The participating companies plan to inject a total of about €12 billion into the German venture capital ecosystem. These strategic efforts are making an impact already: Germany was rated the world’s best country for entrepreneurs for the first time in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Countries Ranking 2024 – ahead even of the U.S.

 This doesn’t just send a strong signal, it also defines our mission: If we continue to systematically invest in infrastructure, financial and material support, and networking efforts, Germany can become Europe’s innovation engine. When startups’ “sparkling ideas” fall on fertile ground, they can blossom into a powerful future.