Hub season 2024: Accelerating Innovation in Every Respect - to be continued!

Investments invested wisely: In 2024, we had our impressive Capital increase celebrated by over one million euros together with all our shareholders. Our plan with the new funding is to invest in 20 to 30 promising, regional startups in the coming years that will embellish future industries with innovative ideas. Up to 100,000 EUR can be made available per startup. Prime examples of innovative ideas that we not only want to support with our program and network, but in which we also invested in 2024, are our Portfolio startups Lucoyo, Wohnsinn and Lenabo. We are excited to see how your journey continues in 2025! 💪

Not just on our Portfolio startups, but also all the other bright minds who inspire us and the world every day with their projects, we are as proud as Oscar! We have alone in 2024 over 50 startups accompanied — including 36 digital And 15 Cyber security startups. It was an honor and enrichment to hear your truly remarkable ideas with our accelerator programs HUBGRADE and HUBGRADE CYBER keep moving forward.

And there was another big reason to celebrate: the 1,000. jury session for Start-up grant. This was not only a symbolic milestone, but also an occasion to look proudly at all the great ideas that we promoted not only in 2024 but also over the last eight years. 👏

What would be DIGITALHUB.DE without his Events? We don't know for sure because 2024 was full of them, but it definitely wouldn't be as exciting and lively. We look back on event highlights filled with inspiration, exchange and unforgettable goosebumps, in particular:

• That Female Founders Venture Summit And that Female Founders Cozy Meetup. Together, we stand up for female founders and each other. We've all celebrated, networked and spun ideas that will shape tomorrow's today!

• That DWNRW Hub Battle. On our trip to the 4 others DWNRW Hubs We not only made mascots, but also valuable contacts before we were back in Bonn and the hub battle knocked us all off our feet - well, lured us from the chair onto the dance floor.

• That STARTUP OPEN AIR. For the first time under this name and no longer held as a Summer Slam, that was SOA our personal hub highlight. Panels, keynotes, pitches, Founders Fight Night, startups, investors, interested entrepreneurs, companies and, of course, the ball pit made the day simply unforgettable. At the same time, we have presented for the first time NRW Startup Reports 2024 Clear facts shown: NRW and Bonn in particular are among the best places for founders — and we owe this not only to Bonn's status as a former federal capital, but to all of us!

• which F*ckhub Night. Mistakes are part of it — but why only get upset about them when you can celebrate them? We have definitely done this successfully and were inspired by them and together ushered in the Christmas spirit with one or the other mulled wine and new acquaintance - cheers for the f*ckups! 🎉

We all know that a strong network is the key to success. In 2024, have over 200 Coworkers enriches us and the hub — including the majority who have been around for a long time and 67 new, exciting faces and projects! Even the over 600 (!) reservations our spaces, including more than 400 on CITYHUB and over 200 on RHINEHUB, have once again shown that something is really happening in the Bonn region, and in a positive sense!

Even existing interconnections and partnerships were strengthened, new ones were made and heads were put together to create great things together and advance start-up projects in the best possible way. In particular due to the new reinforcement in Hub-Family and the team offsite in Munich, but also the numerous small moments in between, the hub's heart has continued to grow! 🙏

It's obvious that a series like this shouldn't end here — and it doesn't! Season 2025 is already in the starting blocks — with new Events, exciting projects and fresh faces. that Female Founders Venture Summit goes into the next round on 06.03.2025, at Hub Battle Let's see you in Münster and with the STARTUP OPEN AIR On 27.08.2025, an absolute highlight has already been announced. We are delighted to welcome startups with our Accelerator programs and Investments Continuing to push ahead and accelerate the digitization of the economy — after all, it affects us all!

P.S. Apply now here, to also be part of the digital and hereto become part of our cyber security program! We are also looking forward to new Hubbies — including in particular the new board member!

So: to be continued, stay tuned! ✨