New commercial register entries for 2015: end-of-year review
2015 was a good year for those founding new businesses. In total, 41,034 new companies were entered into the commercial register – the 40,000 mark has now been surpassed for 3 consecutive years. However, the number is not quite as high as the year before: resulting in a regression of -1.33% compared to 2014.
Number of new start-ups 2015 – solid figures
In 2015, by May 3rd, the number of new businesses established and entered into the commercial register reached the 40,000 mark. In total, 41,034 new companies were founded – a decline of -1.33% compared to 2014. One possible cause for this small decline could be the destabilisation of the Swiss economy caused by the removal of the franc/euro minimum exchange rate in January 2015. The international pressure on Switzerland regarding taxes and finance was another cause of instability. However, the figure achieved in 2015 is still impressive, and underlines the Swiss start-up scene’s strong entrepreneurial culture.
The rise of the GmbH (limited liability company)
37.35% of new companies were registered as a GmbH, a limited liability company, making this the most popular legal form. The second most popular (32.41%) is the Einzelunternehmen, a type of business owned and run by a single individual. In third place (21.36%) are Aktiengesellschaften, shareholder-owned companies. Other types, such as general partnerships (2.73%), and limited commercial partnerships (0.19%), play a minor role.
Differences from canton to canton
A total of 7,336 new businesses (a 1.9% increase compared to 2014) were established in the Canton of Zurich – far more than in any other canton. As in 2014, the Canton of Vaud (3,740 new companies) comes in second place. The Canton of Geneva (3,333), took third place from the Canton of Bern. This development is an effect of the rise of the entire Lemanic Arc, the region to the north of Lake Léman. The dominance of Zurich and Vaud can, amongst other reasons, be attributed to the ETH and EPFL federal technical universities. The impressive pool of ideas within these institutions constantly results in new spin-offs, with people choosing to go into business independently.
Bern (3,291) is in fourth place, ahead of the Canton of Ticino (2,783), and other German-speaking cantons such as Aargau (2,408) and St. Gallen (2,139).
Language regions
The German-speaking area remains in the lead, with 26,921 new companies – a proportion of 65.61%. Romandy, the French-speaking area, is in second place with 11,330 (27.61%) and Ticino, the Italian-speaking area, is third with 2,783 (6.78%). Romandy, as a linguistic region, experienced minor growth (0.08%). The German-speaking area experienced a -0.58% regression compared to 2014, and there was a -12.73% regression in Ticino. The bigger fluctuations in Ticino are, however, understandable, as this region has a far smaller population than the other language regions.
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