The number of companies founded continues to soar

Self-employment has remained attractive, as revealed in the latest study “National Analysis of Swiss Company Incorporations 2023” by the IFJ Institut für Jungunternehmen report. According to the results, there are around 151 company incorporations every day, resulting in a total of 13’599 new companies in the first quarter of 2023. This is a growth of 3.3% compared to the current record year 2021 and an increase of 7.1% compared to 2022. The first quarter of the current year is thus well above the average of the last five years. On average, 12'494 new companies were registered every first quarter from 2019 to 2023.

At 39.6%, LLC (GmbH) is the most frequently chosen legal form for startups due to their advantages such as the low liability risk and the low share capital. The general partnership and sole proprietorship were more popular when choosing a legal form than in the same quarter of the previous year. The general partnership (+22.2%) and the sole proprietorship (+16.1%) recorded a significant increase compared to the first quarter of 2022. In contrast, the limited company (AG) recorded a sharp decline in startups at -3.2%.

Services industry dominates
The top growth sectors in the current year 2023 include B2B & B2C Services (including video production, photography, facility management, and horticulture) with +35.2%, Hairdressing & Cosmetics with +24.4% and Transport & Logistics with +19.0%. following this sector is craftmanship field which had 2026 companies, consulting ( 1397) and retail trade (1306). On the contrary, the sectors Hightech (-44.8%), Agriculture & Forestry (-16.9%) and Education (-12.1%) recorded the highest percentage declines. Numerically, these three sectors are among the smallest, which is why percentage fluctuations can be very dynamic here.

Ticino region comes strong on
Ticino impresses with a growth of +26.5% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The major regions of Espace Midlands (+12.6%), Northwestern Switzerland (+11.9%) and Eastern Switzerland (+8.3%) also recorded significant growth in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022. The major regions of Zurich (+3.8%), Southwestern Switzerland (+2.5%) and Central Switzerland (+1.9%) recorded lower growth.

Further support to strengthen entrepreneurship still needed
The current development of the number of startups shows that the Swiss economy continues to develop positively despite the current economic uncertainties and challenges and offers a functioning ecosystem for startups and young companies. The increasing number of startups is also an indicator of trust and confidence in the Swiss economy and its future potential. However, against the background of current economic events and geopolitical challenges, it is important that the Swiss government and economic actors continue to be proactive and take targeted measures to support entrepreneurship in Switzerland.