Start-ups are on the rise in Germany: Some 60,000 of the fledgling companies were founded there last year, according to a study published on Monday.
This represents an increase on 2016, when the figure was 54,000, according to German state development bank KfW, which published the study.
KfW defines start-ups as companies founded by people bringing innovative products onto the market or aiming for quick growth - often both at the same time.
They differ from conventional businesses, which make use of tried and tested business models and products.
Some 108,000 individual founders helped bring start-ups into being in 2017, compared with 93,000 in 2016.
Women were poorly represented, making up less than 20 per cent of the founders. According to KfW's chief economist JoergZeuner, part of the reason is that fewer women are interested in becoming self-employed.
Another factor is that fewer women are drawn to MINT (mathematics, information technology, natural sciences and technology) professions, he added.
"If we could succeed at getting women passionate about MINT, we would see more women as start-up founders," he said.
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