Berlin goes USA and Asia

Berlin, 19 November 2024 – Please fasten your seatbelts! In recent weeks, Berlin delegations have travelled to Asia and the USA to strengthen local partnerships, establish contacts and represent Berlin as an internationally renowned business location. Berlin Partner was actively involved in the organisation of the networking trip and was also represented on site by Managing Director Dr. Stefan Franzke. While the visits to Beijing and Singapore served to strengthen relations and promote international Fintech exchange, the stays in New York, Boston and Los Angeles were all about networking, transatlantic exchange and strengthening economic cooperation – especially in the areas of healthcare, mobility, infrastructure and sustainability, which were the thematic focuses.

The delegation trip to Asia took place from 3 to 7 November 2024 and started in Beijing. The 30th anniversary of the city partnership between Berlin and Beijing was the focus of the event, as were discussions on the topic of sustainability in business. The Berlin delegates led by State Secretary Michael Biel and Dr. Stefan Franzke also took part in a business conference, visited the science parks in Huairou and Shunyi and met with local companies. Finally, in Singapore, the delegation visited the Singapore Fintech Festival and represented the innovative strength of the capital region there. Site visits and a networking event organised by Berlin Partner, which provided pitching and matchmaking opportunities for the participating Berlin companies, including N26 Group, FIBE Berlin / Messe Berlin, Kodex AI and Lunu Pay,, rounded off the trip.

A few days later, another Berlin delegation set off for the USA from 10 to 16 November 2024, with stops in New York, Boston and Los Angeles. Berlin Partner organised the trip together with the Berlin Senate Chancellery and the Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce, in which Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner also took part. As in Asia, a varied and diverse programme awaited the delegates in the USA.

In New York, the programme included visits to the Pfizer headquarters and the Factory District and Innovation Triangle in West Harlem. Further site visits followed, for example to the Brooklyn Navy Yard with visits to  TomTex and Synchron. The networking event “Life Sciences in NY” with the New York City Economic Development Corporation and JP Morgan investment bank was followed by the train journey to Boston. The motto: Boston meets Berlin. The Berlin delegates visited the opening of the Cellbricks Therapeutics branch, were guests at Bayer’s Research & Innovation Centre and actively participated in the networking of life sciences ecosystems as part of a panel talk. After exciting site visits to the Cambridge Innovation Center and the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, they finally travelled on to Los Angeles – Berlin’s oldest partner city. The two days there were characterised by various events such as the networking breakfast “LA meets Berlin at Microsoft Lounge”, a visit to the La Kretz Innovation Campus, the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the  Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Berliner Energieagentur GmbH (BEA) as well as the GREENTECH FESTIVAL. A festive evening reception and further site visits also made the stay in Los Angeles an all-round successful and enriching experience for the participants.

Both delegations travelled back to Berlin with numerous new impressions and contacts, but also with a common insight: Travelling builds (partnerships).