June 2015
Working Group on the Industrial Bioeconomy Hosts Breakfast for Parliamentarians
Andre Koltermann © BIO Deutschland |
On 11 June, BIO Deutschland’s Working Group on the Industrial Bioeconomy invited Members of the German Bundestag to a breakfast for parliamentarians at the German Parliamentary Association in Berlin. The topic of the event was “Making the Industrial Bioeconomy a Reality: Promoting Innovations and Increasing Potential”. Peter Heinrich, Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland, opened the event with a short presentation on the association, the industrial bioeconomy, and the potential and importance of biotechnology, particularly as regards its application to industrial processes.
The next speaker was Andre Koltermann, Member of the Board of BIO Deutschland and Chairman of the Working Group on the Industrial Bioeconomy, who underlined the importance of project funding, which unfortunately fell sharply by ten per cent last year. Koltermann asked the members of parliament to increase planning certainty for companies by providing clear and reliable parameters. He also addressed the issue of insufficient venture capital (VC) and the lack of suitable parameters for VC investors and recommended concrete measures for improving the financing of innovations in Germany.
The parliamentarians, office managers and private secretaries noted the points raised and took part in a lively discussion with representatives of BIO Deutschland member companies, who succeeded in highlighting in particular the problems arising from the decline in project funding and the need to create incentives for investors.