Why Germany?

During the past couple of months, we did some research to find out which country has the best opportunities for our digital smart mobility solutions regarding parking, ridesharing, and cycling. Germany turned out to be the most interesting market for us and in terms of culture the country offers a good fit with the Netherlands. As Die Grünen is growing, themes such as sustainability and efficiently remodelling the cities will become more important. The once very conservative Germany is increasingly welcoming innovative ideas. And naturally, because of its size the country offers great economic opportunities.  

Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia most suitable

It is because of the size we thought it a bit too ambitious to storm all of Germany at once. Therefore, we first studied the differences within the German regions. Research by the German-Dutch Chamber of Commerce, our research and network partner in Germany, showed that the federal state North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal state Bavaria – with Munich as its main city – are the best regions for us to start. Especially Munich is a trendsetter when it comes to technique and there are many innovative parties in and around Munich because of which we believe our apps will be easily adopted. So, these are all the right reasons to start operating here.

Promoting cycling traffic

Munich, with approximately 874,000 employees in the city and 1.5million employees in the region, is the second largest employer of Germany. That has a great impact on the traffic around the city. It is therefore hardly surprising that in the resolution ‘Cycling in Munich’, which exists since 2009, the council advocates an increase and promotion of the cycling traffic. The share of cycling traffic has increased to almost 18 percent in recent years, and the city wants to see more people riding their bikes. In addition to the existing cycling network of about twelve hundred kilometres, there is a great number of goals to be achieved until the year 2025. This includes the realization of appealing fast cycling connections and many measures to mend holes and the construction of forty new cycling routes so there will be at least a hundred cycling routes in 2025.

Ready to go

As of 1 September, we are going live in Germany. Our country director, Gregor Voigt is ready to start with business development in our office in Munich. We have planned a huge launch event, there are a couple of exhibitions on the agenda in October and of course we must start up online matters such as the website and advertising. As a member of the German-Dutch Chamber of Commerce we often speak with the Dutch Consulate general in Munich which takes a very active part in the region. Joost Bijlsma, our CEO is very confident: “I think the German market is open for this kind of new innovative developments and I foresee great opportunities for Toogethr. Munich is a city that fits us if you consider the culture, innovative attitude and the mobility issues that are going on. And with a country manager like Gregor, with the right skills and an extensive network, it can become nothing more than successful!” So, there is a lot to be done!

Are you interested?

We are currently engaged in discussions with existing customers about a launching partner in Bavaria. Would you like more tips for companies that would like to work in Germany with our smart mobility solutions? Let us know!