If your business has taken off and you’re looking to expand it overseas, why not consider Germany? It has a thriving economy, a large consumer market, and many other excellent reasons to set up your business.
Indeed, the country has been one of the main international markets for UK businesses to explore for several years now.
Are you interested in finding out more? This article will go over the five main reasons why you should expand your business internationally, followed by a brief overview of the importance of procuring a professional translation service in order to accurately convert your documents.
So, read on and find out!
Thriving Economy
Germany has a strong economy due to several factors. First, Germany takes the lead in the gross value added (GAV) industry in the G-7 with a 22.9% share.
Germany’s economy is mixed, with the most prominent sectors being the electrical industry, chemical industry, and construction and engineering. It’s world-famous for manufacturing vehicles like Volkswagen and BMW.
Moreover, Germany has several powerful economic centres in its metropolitan areas like Munich (known for tech), Berlins (vital start-up region), Stuttgart (known for vehicle construction), Rhine-Neckar (economic centre for chemicals and IT), Frankfurt (finance centre) and Hamburg (known for aircraft construction, port, and media).
Germany has one of the highest exports, producing one of the highest exports in the world.
Furthermore, this country has one of the highest GDPs in the G7 countries. In 2020, Germany’s GDP was US $3846.41 billion, representing 3.40% of the world economy. This is particularly impressive when you learn that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the country’s economy by only 5%, making it one of the minor declines recorded in Europe.
In addition, Germany has a very high employment rate and may reach its full employment status soon. In June 2018, there were only 2.2 million unemployed people, the lowest recorded number since the reunification.
Numerous Funds and Financial Incentives
One of the advantages of expanding your business to Germany is the numerous funds and financial incentives you’ll receive.
A typical example is the GRW (Gemeinschaftsaufgabe – Verbesserung der regionalen Wirtschaftsstruktur) cash grant. This grant will provide you with cash incentives that will quickly set up your facility if your business is a part of the manufacturing and service industry. The financing rate for this grant is up to 30%, although the granted amount may differ from region to region.
You can also apply for a public loan, including the national general loans (offered by the federal government’s development bank) and federal state public loans provided by the state’s development bank).
Other numerous funding programs are also present depending on the purpose. For example, you can receive grants for investments, R&D, hiring personnel, public loans, and public guarantees.
You get incentives like recruitment support, training (pre-hire and on-the-job), and wage contribution for hiring personnel.
Public guarantees are schemes where the German government encourages commercial banks to give companies loans.
Skilled Labour
You can’t have a business without a strong workforce, and Germany has enough of it, with 40 million individuals in the German labour force.
What makes German labour stand out from the rest of the EU is their high level of education. Most employees have attended university. This is evident because German universities accept about 2.7 million students per year, most of them in engineering and science courses.
In addition, the middle-class workforce receives training given by approximately 9000 vocational schools delivering the best technicians in the country.
Most German workers are skilled at computers and are driven by high motivation levels as the companies are known to compensate their employees very well.
Germans are hard-working employees too, working an average of 40.4 hours every week. In addition, the country has the youngest labour force in Europe (individuals can start work by 15 under exceptional circumstances). You’ll also find a good gender balance in employment in companies.
Large Consumer Market
Of course, your customers make your business, and Germany will provide you with a large consumer market for your service/product.
Germany has a population of 82.5 million people providing your business with the largest population size and purchasing power in Europe.
In January 2022, Germany’s consumer spending was 413.79 billion euros. This means that expanding your business here may allow you access to a large consumer market, causing your business to grow.
There are many e-commerce opportunities too. For example, 95% of households in Germany have internet access making it an ideal place for e-commerce companies to build their business and the expected number of users to reach 68.4m by 2025.
In addition, revenue in the e-commerce market is expected to display a yearly growth rate of 11.32% and may reach a market volume of €157,743m by 2025.
Locational Advantages
Germany has several locational advantages.
For starters, this country may be the gateway to building your business in the European market because of its geographic location. Germany is located in central Europe, is a member state in the EU, and shares borders with nine countries.
Germany has been ranked 1st in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index. The country has state-of-the-art transportation via air, waterway, rail, and autobahn, providing easy access to international and domestic markets.
Germany has seaports in the North, providing access for trade with countries such as the UK, Baltic states, and Scandinavia. In addition, the rail networks and roads link the country through the Jutland peninsula connecting with Denmark and the remaining part of Scandinavia.
Roads, railways, and inland waterways lead to France and the Benelux countries in the west. In the south lies Switzerland, Austria, and the Balkan states. The country’s east provides easy access to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, and Hungary.
Required Translation Services This article has shown you why expanding to Germany may be the next best thing for your business, and although about 56% of the German population can speak English, there is still a bit of a language barrier. Therefore, it’s best to locate a professional German translation service provider before setting up. Relying on a certified German translation service will make it easier for you to expand without language hurdles and ensure that your messages are accurately communicated to the target audience.