Small and medium-sized enterprises and family businesses have often been rooted in rural areas for generations. Inadequate infrastructure and a lack of skilled workers put local businesses, employees and their families under pressure. The framework conditions must become noticeably more attractive - for working, housing and living. It is also socially worthwhile to give rural areas new impetus and create new incentives to stay in and to come to them.

As the German federal election is coming up in September 2021, it is time to discuss different visions for the future and regulatory conditions affecting Mittelstand companies and family businesses. They need an environment in which they can continue to develop their products and services with confidence, courage and creativity. BDI calls for policies that enable smart investments, constant innovation and international competitiveness.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and family businesses – that’s more than 99 percent of all companies in Germany. Data, facts and figures in a BDI fact check help to understand the special characteristics of the German Mittelstand, its economic and social significance as well as its challenges.

The economic consequences of the Corona crisis are incalculable for family businesses. In an interview at the beginning of April 2020, Hans-Toni Junius, Chairman of the BDI/BDA SME Committee, comments on current issues: “Many SMEs are internationally active; we do not need or want protectionism.”

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) and the Federation of German industries (BDI) have formulated five key objectives that they are pursuing jointly to secure the competitiveness, resilience and robust growth of the mid-size sector.

The Federation of German Industries (BDI) and the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA) recommend measures in seven policy areas as cornerstones of a national strategy in support of Mittelstand and family-owned companies.

Family businesses make a huge contribution to the German economy and German industry as employers and as tradition-conscious innovators. They are defined as companies that are owned by one or more families, with a difference being drawn between “family-controlled” and “family-led” businesses.