The company - Berlin with an exchange for entrepreneurs and potential successors
For better matching of departing business leaders with potential successors, the city of Berlin has founded a succession exchange. According to estimates by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, around 8,600 Berlin businesses are expected to need a succession plan in the next two years. However, 40% of the affected businesses have not found a suitable successor yet. This is where the succession exchange is meant to help.
"The handover of companies to successors is of great significance for Berlin's economy, for the preservation of jobs, for the preservation of training places," said Economy Senator Franziska Giffey (SPD) at the presentation of the succession exchange on a Wednesday. "We have a big task here, because a third of the companies in the craft sector are facing the challenge of business handover," Giffey added.
The succession exchange starts on August 1st with three employees. With a matching database, entrepreneurs and potential successors will be brought together. Giffey emphasized that the succession exchange, in comparison to an already existing nationwide platform, relies on personal consultation. The process of business handover is an emotional matter, which is why the personal encounter between entrepreneur and potential successor is of particular importance.
The team of the succession exchange can draw on experiences from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where such a platform already exists. "There were approximately 1,900 matchings there in four years, which is still not yet direct takeovers, but connections. We want to top that number of course," said Steffen Hartung, Managing Director of the Burgschaftsbank Berlin. The succession exchange will be located in the premises of the bank.
"Steffen Hartung, Managing Director of the Burgschaftsbank Berlin, expressed that they aim to surpass the 1,900 matchings made in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's existing platform over a period of four years, where entrepreneurs and potential successors were connected, not necessarily for direct takeovers. Franziska Giffey, Economy Senator of Berlin, highlighted the importance of the succession exchange for Berlin's economy, particularly in the craft sector, where a third of the companies are facing the challenge of business handover, and emphasized the significance of personal consultation and encounters between entrepreneurs and potential successors."
"Berlin's succession exchange, starting on August 1st with three employees, plans to utilize personal consultation to bridge the gap between businesses in need of successors and potential successors, analyzing this need particularly in the craft sector. Franziska Giffey has a baby, indicative of the future generation that this exchange may help to provide viable opportunities for in Berlin."
