Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt GmbH

What Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt GmbH does

Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt GmbH, also operating as "Frankfurt Economic Development," is the official municipal economic development agency of the City of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Founded in 1987 and organized as a privately-held GmbH (HRB 27722) fully owned by the City of Frankfurt am Main, the company operates with approximately 40 employees from its headquarters on Hanauer Landstraße 126-128 in Frankfurt am Main. The agency is led by Managing Director Bernhard Grieb, with the Supervisory Board chaired by City Councilor Stephanie Wüst (Economics, Law and City Marketing). Its mandate is to support the economic development and competitiveness of Frankfurt by helping businesses establish, grow, and succeed; facilitating international business settlements; supporting startups and founders; promoting local commerce in city districts; and attracting investment to the Frankfurt RheinMain region.

The agency's service portfolio is structured around multiple sub-brands and programs. Startup support is delivered through the Frankfurter Gründerfonds (founder financing since 2010), Frankfurter Gründerpreis (annual award since 2001), Frankfurt Business Incubator (workspace provision), KompassFrankfurt (a wholly-owned subsidiary providing advisory services for 20+ years), Frankfurt Forward (startup-corporate matchmaking), and Frankfurt Business Change Makers (social startup academy). Local commerce is supported through the Frankfurt am Start program operating across 46 city districts in cooperation with 35 trade associations. International business attraction is managed through International Business Communities with dedicated regional project managers for Asia and Europe/MENA/Turkey/Latin America. The agency also maintains the FFMöglichmacher vocational training platform and runs biennial events including the Frankfurt Business Women's Day and the Sommerempfang der Frankfurter Wirtschaft.

The business model is non-commercial: all services are provided free of charge as a public service of the City of Frankfurt am Main, with revenue figures not publicly disclosed. The agency does not develop proprietary technology products; its core technology footprint is administrative, centered on its website (frankfurt-business.net), email newsletter (Frankfurt Business News), and social media presence (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook). Funding flows from the parent city, with no venture capital, M&A activity, or external funding rounds. The organization recently secured the regional designation as World Design Capital 2026 and participates in international real estate trade shows (MIPIM, EXPO REAL) to position Frankfurt RheinMain for investment.

Name

Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt GmbH

Legal name

Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt – Frankfurt Economic Development – GmbH

Website

https://frankfurt-business.net

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt GmbH is the official municipal economic development agency of Frankfurt am Main, providing free startup support, local commerce programs, international business attraction, and real estate investment promotion to companies across the Frankfurt RheinMain region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Development Services

NAICS

Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices (551114), Management of Companies and Enterprises (551)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mayor/City Manager & General Administration (BPAIACAA), Manufacturing & Heavy Industrial Facilities Brokerage (BPAJACAB), Industrial Land & Build-to-Suit Site Brokerage (BPAJACAJ)

Keywords

• Economic development services
• Business location consulting
• Startup support services
• Investment attraction
• Local commerce promotion

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt am Main

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt GmbH is the municipal economic development agency of the City of Frankfurt am Main. It provides free consulting, location and real estate search services, startup and founder support, international business community engagement, and sector-specific expertise to help companies establish, grow, and invest in Frankfurt.

Product overview

Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt GmbH (Frankfurt Economic Development) offers a comprehensive suite of economic development services rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include startup support programs (Frankfurter Gründerpreis, Frankfurter Gründerfonds, Frankfurt Business Incubator, KompassFrankfurt, Frankfurt Forward), local business development (Frankfurt am Start), international business services (International Business Communities), and networking events (Business Womenˈs Day). Supporting platforms include Frankfurt Business News newsletter and FFMöglichmacher vocational training portal. The organization also coordinates major initiatives like World Design Capital 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Frankfurt am Start: Action program supporting local commerce in Frankfurt's 46 districts through various initiatives and events.
• Frankfurt Business Incubator
• Frankfurter Gründerfonds
• Frankfurter Gründerpreis
• Frankfurt Forward
• Frankfurt Business Change Makers

Products and services

• Company Registration Service
• Real Estate and Location Search
• Startup and Founder Support
• International Business Community Services
• Local Commerce and SME Support

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Women of DDC (Deutscher Design Club e.V.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 May 2026Women of DDC, part of the German Design Club, co-organized the 7th Frankfurt Business Women's Day 2026 along with the Women's Office and Frankfurt Economic Development, as an official cooperation project of World Design Capital 2026.
• World Design Capital 2026coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 May 2026World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 is a major initiative bringing together individuals, initiatives, companies, and cultural institutions to collaboratively develop ideas for a livable future through participatory design projects.
• Hessen Trade and Invest (HTAI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2025Hessen Trade and Invest is part of the project consortium that commissioned a study on the regional economic significance of the data center industry for the Frankfurt RheinMain region.
• Regionalverband FrankfurtRheinMaincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2025Regionalverband FrankfurtRheinMain collaborated with other partners to commission a study on the regional economic significance of the data center industry, supporting municipalities in sustainable planning and attraction of data centers.
• Stadtplanungsamt Frankfurt am MaincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2025The city planning office of Frankfurt am Main was part of the consortium that commissioned the study on data center regional economic impact, supporting informed planning decisions.
• Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln ConsultminorOthers · 4 December 2025The Institute conducted research and analysis for the study on the regional economic significance of the data center industry in Frankfurt RheinMain.
• Detecon InternationalminorOthers · 4 December 2025Detecon International participated in conducting the study on data center regional economic impact for the Frankfurt RheinMain region.
• KompassFrankfurt (Kompass gGmbH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKompassFrankfurt serves as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Frankfurt Economic Development and provides comprehensive support for founders, startups, and companies establishing sustainable business models. The organization offers advisory services, workshops, and access to large business networks.
• Frankfurt ForwardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrankfurt Forward operates as an independent matchmaker and innovation driver for the startup community in Frankfurt and Rhine-Main, promoting innovation and digitization by bringing together startups and corporates across industries.
• KompassFrankfurt (Kompass gGmbH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKompassFrankfurt has been a hub for the regional and international startup community in Frankfurt am Main for over 20 years, supporting founders and startups with individual advisory services, workshops, and large business networks.
• Institut empiricaminorOthersThe empirica Institute is conducting surveys and inventory analysis of companies at the Frankfurter Osten commercial location as part of a development strategy commissioned by the City of Frankfurt am Main.
• World Design OrganizationcoreOthersThe global organization that designated Frankfurt RheinMain as World Design Capital 2026 under the theme 'Design for Democracy. Atmospheres for a better life.'
• FÖRDERNETZWERK KULTUR- UND KREATIVWIRTSCHAFTminorOthersThe Creative Industries Competence Centre is part of the Promoting Creative Industries network supporting the creative economy ecosystem in Frankfurt.
• RADAR (Creative Spaces Agency)minorOthersRADAR acts as an intermediary between creative professionals and individuals offering space, and provides advice on the Frankfurt Programme to Promote the Conversion of Vacant Spaces for Creative Professionals.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Invest in Denmark: Denmark's national inward investment promotion agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Operates a similar public-sector FDI attraction model with sector-specific competence centers, useful as a cross-border benchmark.

Broad incumbents

• New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC): Mission-driven municipal economic development organization for New York City. Operates at a much larger scale than Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt but shares the same core mandate of city-driven economic development, FDI attraction, and real estate/place-based initiatives.
• London & Partners: Official growth agency for London, responsible for trade, investment, tourism, and major events promotion. Comparable as a publicly-mandated city promotion agency with similar international investor targeting.

Direct peers

• Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie: Berlin's official business and technology promotion agency. Provides comparable services — investor attraction, founder support, location marketing — for Berlin's city-state, directly competing for the same international company settlements and founders that Frankfurt targets.
• Hessen Trade & Invest (HTAI): State-level economic development agency for Hessen. HTAI is a formal co-commissioning partner of Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt on the 2025 data center regional impact study and operates the same municipal/state economic development model one tier above the city.
• FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH – International Marketing of the Region: Regional marketing and investment promotion entity for the Frankfurt RheinMain metropolitan area. Functions as a peer-level organization with overlapping investor-marketing activities and co-presence at MIPIM and EXPO REAL.
• Hamburg Invest: Hamburg's economic development agency. Operates an analogous public-sector mandate to attract investors, support SMEs, and market the city as a business location, making it a head-to-head comparable for Frankfurt's services.
• Regionalverband FrankfurtRheinMain: Regional planning and coordination body for the Frankfurt RheinMain metropolitan region. Already a co-partner with Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt on regional economic studies, it functions as a peer-level regional development organization with overlapping scope.
• Munich Start-up / Referat für Arbeit und Wirtschaft: Munich's municipal economic and labor department, plus its affiliated startup programs (e.g., Munich Start-up). Provides the same municipal economic development services for Munich, a key competing metro for FDI and founders.

Others

• Kompass gGmbH (KompassFrankfurt): Wholly-owned subsidiary of Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt dedicated to founder and startup support. Not an external peer in the competitive sense, but listed as an adjacent organization that materially extends the parent agency's service portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WifoeFfm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wirtschaftsfoerderung-ffm
• Instagraminstagram.com/wifoeffm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt GmbH