At the management level, two top-class professionals have been appointed. Philipp Schröder has made a name for himself internationally as a venture capital expert and has invested in more than 35 start-ups himself. Miriam Kröger has extensive management experience in the fields of logistics, e-commerce, and digitalization, primarily with Kuehne + Nagel, the NOL Group, and the Otto Group. Both of them are joining the NLA as managing partners and are thus committed to the mission as shareholders as well. "Our aim is to make the NLA the most interesting accelerator in the logistics industry in Europe and climb to the Top 3 worldwide," states Miriam Kröger.
The program will accept start-ups within the so-called WIOTTA market segments. This encompasses a wide spectrum of technology and business: warehousing, Internet of Things, transportation, mobility, supply chain management, predictive analytics, big data, blockchain, 3-D printing, robotics, autonomous vehicles, drone technology, last mile delivery, smart cities, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR). "With our program, we have created a valuable product for logistics start-ups," says Philipp Schröder. "The word is getting around. More than 100 applications have already been submitted for the first session." The first 'batch' should get started soon.
At the accelerator, work involves analyzing business models, constructing marketable offers, and developing financing strategies. The investors and other hand-picked partner companies prepare realistic test environments as needed, and more than 100 mentors are available as experts. "Between them, Logistik-Initiative and Haspa have direct links to more than 12,000 logistics companies in Hamburg," according to LIHH chairman Professor Dr. Peer Witten. "We will use these contacts to give the start-ups optimal support. The NLA will be a decisive step towards bringing Hamburg forward as an innovative logistics region."
For the investors and partner companies, the NLA can also take on the role of an outsourced development department. The applications and active market observation offer an overview of global start-up activities which can be used specifically for internal development work. At the end of the program, individual teams or entire business models can then be connected with the existing business.
About the NLA
The NLA was founded in 2017 by Hamburger Sparkasse, Logistik-Initiative Hamburg, and New Times Ventures as an industry-specific multi-corporate accelerator. It supports start-ups and founding teams from across Europe in developing innovative digital business models. In addition to venture capital of up to 50,000 euros and access to potential customers and business partners, the NLA offers participating start-ups a customized training and coaching program as well as working spaces. In return, the participants offer company shares of between three and ten percent to the NLA shareholders. They will transfer their center of activity to Hamburg for at least six months to advance their company growth under ideal conditions. An optional additional month with a partner accelerator in Shanghai is possible.
The NLA ecosystem includes ten Hamburg companies which have each invested 200,000 euros into the NLA fund. These are joined by additional selected partner companies, the city of Hamburg, educational institutions, and research institutions as well as an extensive mentor network with experts from a variety of fields.
Two sessions with five start-ups each are planned per year. Applications can be found at www.nla.vc.
