Düsseldorf, 16 May 2017 - NRW.INVEST is now intensifying its efforts to acquire digital companies in Silicon Valley in order to advance the digital transformation of NRW. This is the reason why the state-owned economic development agency is currently opening its own office there. NRW.INVEST succeeded in winning the German digital entrepreneur and expert Oliver Hanisch as a local NRW representative and scout. In particular, his job is to identify start-ups in the growth and internationalization phase and to acquire them for NRW.
"We are pleased that we have found a representative in Oliver Hanisch who is extremely well connected as an industry expert in the Valley and at the same time very well acquainted with the German economy," emphasizes Petra Wassner, CEO of NRW.INVEST. "In particular we are targeting companies in the B2B area looking for business customers in the industrial sector." The development of Cumulocity is an example of how such start-ups find ideal conditions in NRW: In 2012 the company moved from the Valley to Düsseldorf. To date, the company has found more than 200 partners from NRW, including Deutsche Telekom, Software AG and Intel, with its staff growing to 75.
Oliver Hanisch has lived in Silicon Valley for many years and maintains a close network with the local start-up scene there. For example, he headed the German Accelerator, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics, which supports German start-ups on their way to Silicon Valley. With the German Innovator he also enabled established German companies to make contacts in Silicon Valley in order to accelerate their digital transformation. In addition, Hanisch founded various digital companies. For NRW.INVEST he now wants to accompany US start-ups during their expansion into the European market.
NRW.INVEST USA/Silicon Valley operates in a coworking space in the immediate vicinity of a campus of Stanford University in Redwood City. Prominent neighbors including leading technology companies such as Google, HP, Cisco, Oracle, Electronic Arts, Twitter and Linkedin.
NRW.INVEST has 14 international offices worldwide. Only in April of this year, the NRW Investment and Cooperation Scout took up its work in Tel Aviv. Other offices are located in Japan, USA, China, India, Korea, Poland, Russia and Turkey.