Three in one: Berlin Partner’s History

Berlin Partner GmbH only began operating under its present name on July 1, 2005, but the agency has a long history. Today’s Berlin Partner has its roots in three groups founded in 1950, 1977 and 1994 respectively.

BAO BERLIN International GmbH (BAO) was founded in 1950 as a 70-percent subsidiary of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It first operated under the name Berliner Absatz-Organisation GmbH, later as BAO BERLIN - Marketing Service GmbH. BAO BERLIN’s aim was to counteract West Berlin's insular nature, which resulted from the Berlin Wall and the city’s unique political situation. BAO BERLIN promoted sales of Berlin-made products on the West German market, and created economic ties between West Berlin and the rest of the Federal Republic.

The city's business promotion activities emerged from the Berlin Senate Department for Economics with the formation of the Wirtschaftsförderung Berlin GmbH (WFB; known in English as: Berlin Business Development Corporation) in 1977. The move was intended to clearly show investors that the city had a separate institution dedicated specifically to their needs and interests.

A number of large companies took the initiative to found Partner für Berlin –Gesellschaft für Hauptstadt-Marketing mbH (PfB; in English: Berlin Partners Capital City Marketing) in 1994 as a way to develop professional tools for marketing the city through a public-private partnership with the state of Berlin. The number of companies actively involved in the Berlin-Partners (PfB) network has grown continuously. Whereas there were 17 founding members in 1994, there are now more than 170 partner companies supporting the capital's business network.

As part of a first step towards creating a central port of call in Berlin both for Berlin-based companies choosing to expand their international operations and for investors coming to Berlin, the BAO and the WFB merged in September 2003 to form the Wirtschaftsförderung Berlin International GmbH (WFBI). The next step followed in July 2005, when the PfB and the WFBI joined forces and became Berlin Partner GmbH. The outcome is a model unique in Germany: A public-private partnership commissioned by Berlin’s government to promote growth in our city.