University of Cologne: Second Most Startup-Friendly University in Germany
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Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Katherina Reiche has presented the latest Startup Monitor. The University of Cologne is once again the most startup-friendly non-technical comprehensive university in Germany.
The German Startups Association (Bundesverband Deutsche Startups e. V.) has published the latest Startup Monitor 2025. The results were presented on Monday, September 29, by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Katherina Reiche. According to the study, a particularly large number of founders come from the University of Cologne, which once again ranks as the most startup-friendly non-technical comprehensive university in Germany. It improved from third to second place compared to the previous year. 3.9 percent of respondents obtained their highest academic degree in Cologne. Only the Technical University of Munich produces more founders (4.2 percent of respondents). With around 1,800 founders surveyed, the annual study is considered the most comprehensive survey of the startup scene in Germany.
The study also highlights the role of universities in the German start-up ecosystem. Around 80 percent of respondents (81.6 percent) emphasize proximity to universities as a locational advantage – as a source of talent, knowledge transfer, and new ideas. A good half of the founders (50.9 percent) have also received support from universities. They consider networking with “relevant players” – for example, for financing issues or cooperation with companies – and the transfer of start-up know-how to be helpful.
Professor Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee, Rector of the University of Cologne, says: “The good results in the German Startup Monitor confirm that we have done well to anchor transfer centrally in our university strategy. We want to encourage and empower students and scientists to apply innovative ideas from the excellent research conducted at our university. We are particularly pleased when so many of them want to shape our social future with entrepreneurial means.”
The University of Cologne has significantly expanded its start-up funding since 2019 as part of the North Rhine-Westphalia state government’s “Excellence Start-up Center” initiative. The number of start-ups supported rose from 14 in 2020 to 41 in 2024.
In order to promote the growth of already established start-ups more strongly, the University of Cologne, together with RWTH Aachen University and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, founded the Gateway Factory. This is one of ten start-up factories funded by the German federal government and will therefore receive up to ten million euros from the federal government over the next five years to support deep tech start-ups. The initiators also include the Gateway Universities in Cologne and the Munich-based company Start2 Group.