Business helpers and guides
The 6 S’s of successful, sustainable economic development
The Office for Economic Development always plans and acts in the interests of current and future businesses in Leipzig. Their aims are as diverse as the services provided by the team, who act as guides, consultants, moderators, coordinators, door-openers and even crisis managers! We rely on the 6 S’s of successful economic development
Support
Every year we provide financial support for promising business ideas under for instance the SME Support Programme. By doing so, we help local small and medium-sized businesses to develop sustainably.
Skilled workers
We secure existing jobs, create new employment opportunities to increase productivity, and act as a link between the business community and municipal educational institutions training tomorrow’s workforce
Space
We develop and broker commercial space, improve the digital infrastructure, and enable research and business projects to get the space they need.
Solutions
We’re the port of call for Leipzig’s present and future employers. We provide support and advice on all questions regarding Leipzig as a business location, and also help them find their way around the various departments in the local authority.
Subsidies
We secure the finances of the local authority by sustainably strengthening our local economy and its productivity.
Suggestions
We identify employers’ needs and trends in business and research early on – and come up with suggestions and ideas on how best to proceed.
Sustainable support for local businesses
The City of Leipzig’s SME Support Programme is a central pillar in its backing for economic development. The goal is to devise viable, promising solutions and financially support them whenever the resources of small and medium-sized enterprises are objectively insufficient. The programme was launched in 2013 to enable SMEs to make better use of their own potential – above all by means of innovation and technology based project funding – and hence boost their competitiveness.
In 2021, the City of Leipzig raised annual funding for its SME programme to €1.8 million. In addition, the SME Support Programme was simplified by the Office for Economic Development and subdivided into just four schemes. Project support is now available for sustainable business growth, securing businesses in times of crisis, and business succession. Furthermore, subsidies are granted to skilled tradespeople who set themselves up in business as well as other applicants with especially inventive business concepts. Founders are also eligible for assistance as they take their first commercial steps in Leipzig.