Hamburg-based fintechs secure grants from new InnoFinTech funding

1 June 2022

Stargazr and SideCaps secure up to EUR 200,000 each

The Stargazr and SideCaps fintechs are looking forward to grants of up to EUR 200,000 each from Hamburg's new InnoFinTech funding scheme. Hopes are now high that the EUR 2.5 million scheme, which was launched in late March by the Ministry of Finance, the Chamber of Commerce and the Hamburg Financial Centre Association, will boost start-ups and encourage more innovative financial companies to settle in Hamburg.

Grants for Stargazr and SideCaps mark start

"We and our partners, the Chamber of Commerce and Finanzplatz Hamburg, now aim to support young companies in financial technology, insurance technology, legal technology or property technology via the Financial Industry Master Plan, thereby increasing value creation and job potential for Hamburg as a business centre," said Andreas Dressel, Senator for Finance. The grants for Stargazr and SideCaps mark "a nice starting point", he added. Adopted last autumn, the Master Plan for the Financial Sector should help position and bolster the Hanseatic city in the financial services sector in the long term.

Funded start-ups

Founded in 2020, Stargazr develops an AI-based software-as-a-service solution for finance teams in manufacturing companies. An intelligent recommendation feature sends controllers and chief financial officers (CFOs) suggestions on how to address weaknesses in their companies and save costs. Also founded in 2020, SideCaps facilitates large-volume trading in listed small caps and offers a transaction platform "SideCaps Pool" and the content platform "SideCaps Insights" for this purpose.

Hamburg to support young financial companies

Hamburg has a particularly young and dynamic fintech scene, according to the German Fintech Report 2021. Around 61 per cent of fintechs in Hamburg have been on the market for less than five years. Fledgling companies can apply for funding of up to EUR 200,000 in grants from IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH, a subsidiary of Investitions- und Förderbank Hamburg (IFB Hamburg), as part of the InnoFinTech scheme. The Fintech Agency, launched by Hamburg Invest, offers start-ups all kinds of information and advice on site exploration, location and growth.

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