Gründerallianz Ruhr goes into extension - Ruhr region becomes hotspot for data-driven innovations

The Ruhr region is becoming the leading industrial data hotspot of international standing: Start-ups from all over the world are developing solutions for practical use on the basis of previously unused data treasures from industry. The Gründerallianz Ruhr has set itself this goal for the next three years.

Together with its partners RAG-Stiftung, RAG Aktiengesellschaft and Evonik Industries, the Initiativkreis Ruhr has agreed to extend the Gründerallianz programme with a focus on the Data Hub Ruhr until the end of 2023. The initiators of Gründerallianz Ruhr have also gained the housing company Vonovia and RAG-S Innovation, a subsidiary of the RAG Foundation, as additional partners. 

Gründerallianz Ruhr was launched in 2018 with the mission of promoting the region's start-up scene. The programme offers an overview of the startup ecosystem Ruhr and supports founders with a strong network of business and science as well as networking events and further education programmes. "Today, a vibrant startup ecosystem has emerged in the Ruhr region that, with its strong focus on B2B, i.e. business-to-business relationships, can currently defy even the Corona pandemic," says Dirk Opalka, Managing Director of Initiativkreis Ruhr GmbH. "The Data Hub Ruhr, where practice-oriented ideas mature and tangible business relationships between start-ups and companies are created, is an important driver of this development. That is why the Gründerallianz Ruhr will focus even more on B2B data in the future, in addition to transparency and networking. "The next edition of the Data Hab Ruhr programme will start in May 2021. Interested companies still have the opportunity to submit concrete data-related use cases or problems to a global start-up community.

Gründerallianz Ruhr gives additional impetus to the transformation of the Ruhr region

"Gründerallianz Ruhr is one of the most powerful projects when it comes to providing young founders with prospects in the Ruhr region. It also gives additional impetus to the transformation of our region. The secured funding of the Gründerallianz Ruhr over the next three years gives the initiative and its successfully initiated projects the planning security that is so important," says Bernd Tönjes, Chairman of the Board of the RAG Foundation.Bärbel Bergerhoff-Wodopia, member of the Board of the RAG Foundation and responsible, among other things, for its funding activities, says: "As the main sponsor of the Gründerallianz and as a major university sponsor, our aim from the outset has also been to bring start-ups together with established companies. Their industrial data is a valuable basis for founders and scientists for university spin-offs. I am very pleased that the Gründerallianz can now continue its already established work and thus continue to contribute to the successful transformation of the Ruhr region."

Gründerallianz Ruhr has already established a network with more than 700 international data start-ups

In the past three years, the Data Hub Ruhr has published concrete problem definitions of the participating companies in the course of three rounds of calls for proposals ("batches"), to which start-ups from all over the world could apply. In a three-month cooperation programme, the partners then developed business models based on real company data. A total of more than 500 start-ups from 39 countries applied for the 18 advertised use cases from ten different companies - including Evonik, Kolumbus, Net Connect Germany, RAG, Vivawest, Vonovia and Stadtentsorgung Herne. The use cases ranged from post-mining topics and data-based agriculture to error detection and troubleshooting in gas and energy planning to real estate renovation and auditing. Over the past three years, the Gründerallianz Ruhr has developed a database of more than 700 international data start-ups. These are to be intensively promoted and supported.

Cooperation in the Data Hub Ruhr creates competitive advantages - for start-ups and companies

"Particularly in the Ruhr region, as Germany's strongest industrial region, there are enormous opportunities for successful cooperation between start-ups and companies," says Christian Lüdtke, Founder Coordinator Ruhr and Managing Director of digital consultancy and company builder etventure. "The participating companies in the Data Hub Ruhr have understood that real competitive advantages are created through collaboration with startups. Over the next three years, we want to develop the Ruhr region into an international centre of excellence for B2B data start-ups. "The three-month project phase has already given rise to long-term cooperation on several occasions. One of many examples is the start-up adiutaByte, which took part in the Data Hub Ruhr in 2019 to digitalise regional bulky waste disposal with the waste disposal companies of the city of Herne. Within three months, adiutaByte was able to develop software for automated route planning of the vehicle fleet and shorten the waiting time for citizens from up to six weeks to less than two weeks through optimised routes. The number of kilometres driven by the collection vehicles was also reduced by 30 percent. Vanessa Wolff, co-founder of adiutaByte, is very satisfied with the cooperation: "Since the project with Herne, we have been increasingly active in the waste disposal sector, and this has already resulted in further projects with the cities of Berlin and Cologne. The Data Hub has opened up a new line of business for us and connected us with crucial partners.""Last year, we saw how helpful and fruitful the cooperation is for both sides - for the startups as well as the companies," says Alexander Weihe, Head of Innovation & Business Building at Vonovia. "We are delighted that we are now continuing on this successful path as a project partner together with Gründerallianz Ruhr and establishing the Ruhr region as a driver of innovation. Gründerallianz now wants to further tap into this potential and thus both strengthen regional start-ups and attract international start-ups to the region.

Anmerkung: Zum Zeitpunkt der Veröffentlichung des Artikels war der Zitatgeber Dr. Christian Lüdtke Geschäftsführer von etVenture. Seit Anfang Dezember 2022 ist Lüdtke Geschäftsführer der BRYCK GmbH und Co. KG, bei welcher eigens ein Team aufgebaut wurde, um die Gründerallianz Ruhr seither zu unterstützen.