Berlin’s bid for London’s tech talent

Date:

9/20/2016

Time:

05:00:07

Author:

y Cellan-Jones

Source:

BBC News

Content:

London and Berlin - two great European cities with much to offer technology companies. But now the German capital sees a chance to steal a march on its rival and perhaps take over as Europes leading technology cluster. Soon after the Brexit vote, letters began arriving from Germany at a number of small London technology companies. One of them was addressed to Maz Nadjm, founder of SoAmpli - a social media advertising agency based just off the Silicon Roundabout on the fringes of the City. The letter came from the office of Berlins senator for technology and industry. Mr Nadjm was impressed. "They got my name right - and theyre inviting me to Berlin," he says. Tech talent season: UK digital clusters mapped Google: Dont let Brexit distract UK How UK lost six potential tech titans Has the UK got tech talent? The letter explained that after the UKs vote to leave the EU, a company like his would receive a warm welcome if it chose to secure its access to the single market by moving to Germanys capital. As well as the letters, a bus promoting Berlin was sent through the streets of Shoreditch. In her office, filled with models of the city mascot, the Berlin bear, I put it to senator Cornelia Yzer that her whole campaign was a bit cheeky. "Theres nothing wrong with competition," she tells me. "We are a vibrant city, we attract talents from all over the world. "And maybe its also the right location for a London-based company to open an office here to make sure theyre part of the EU in future." On the face of it, Berlins ambitions look far-fetched. London has far more technology jobs right now - 328,000 to the 80,000 in Berlin - and is the first place many American tech companies think of when looking for a European base. But Berlin has long been a magnet for creative young people. When I lived and worked there for six months on a youth exchange programme in the late 1970s, at the height of the Cold War, students from West Germany flocked to the city because they were allowed to avoid military service there. It had a great music and art scene, although in those uncertain times was not a great place to start a business. But a quarter of a century after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this citys economy is finally accelerating after a sluggish start. At Factory Berlin, a tech incubator in a restored warehouse right next to the memorial to the wall, we found lots of eager young start-ups, alongside established companies such as Soundcloud and Twitter. As we wandered past a ping-pong table towards the coffee station, in an environment familiar from Shoreditch to Silicon Valley, the marketing manager, Lukas Kampfmann, pointed out some tenants. They ranged from a one-man company starting a dating app to Deutsche Bank, which has set up an innovation unit here. Mr Kampfmann has a great sales pitch, reeling off all sorts of facts and figures to prove Berlin is the place to be - rents are about half the level of London, there is great infrastructure and talent, even the amount of venture capital invested here last year outstripped what went to its British rival. "Were at a very interesting sweet spot," he tells me. "If you raise €100,000 [$111,810; £86,262] it goes a lot further. This is not hype this is sustainable into the future." And outside we ran into one of his tenants, Anna Bojic. Her gifting site, Merisier, is expanding rapidly and she believes that Berlin now provides a great environment for start-ups. "It has been reinventing itself since the 1990s," she says. "It draws very creative people who are different, who are risk takers, people who want to try things differently." And she is confident that it can prosper at Londons expense after the EU vote. "I do think it will change the way investors will behave," she says. "Now Berlin is positioned in a very open larger market. I think money will come that hasnt been here before, and talent will be drawn here." But back in London Mr Nadjm is not packing his bags and heading to Germany. "I love Berlin, its very cool, but for what we do at my start-up its not the right place," he says. "The UK is a lot more mature when it comes to digital and social media. And besides that its home here, Brexit or not, and were staying." Berlin is a vibrant, exciting and youthful city these days. But London has a couple of great advantages - the English language and one of the worlds great financial centres. Do not expect it to give up its title as Europes tech capital without a fight.

Orignial Link :

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37417764

crawlTime:

9/20/2016 10:22:05 AM