In a few days, the German capital, Berlin, has already paid 83,000 one-man businesses and small businesses a one-off payment. This puts the city at the forefront of the German government’s plan to overcome the acute financial need of companies due to the corona crisis.
Emma was stunned when she checked her banking app yesterday morning. The deposit of several thousand euros for her sole proprietorship was approaching. “I thought, this cannot be true. So fast!” Says the Dutch entrepreneur.
Because only last Friday was the Berlin website for the so-called Soforthilfe (immediate support) went online. “I then joined a digital queue, where I was allocated number 75,161. I still thought that would be a drama,” says Emma. “But on Sunday I suddenly saw that thousands of requests were being processed at the same time. And suddenly it was my turn, all with simple online application forms. I am completely positively surprised.”
Thousands of euros in damage
The Dutch launched the website five years ago wattedoeninberlijn.nl, a blog about the German capital that is loved by Dutch people planning a city trip. She has also been organizing city tours since 2017. “I was working on my most successful season ever, bookings for the busy May period poured in. But from the end of February, everything went down. The cancellations came from all sides, while traffic on my website came to a complete standstill.”
The damage for the Dutch soon runs into the thousands of euros. She is happy with a partner who has a permanent job: “I will certainly not lose my house, but that threatens to other people. I have therefore not asked the government for the maximum amount of aid of 15,000 euros. I am with a part of that already helped a lot. “
No viscous bureaucracy
The speed with which Berlin Soforthilfe takes a lot of admiration in the rest of Germany. And also some surprise. Because the capital is normally known as a bulwark of syrupy bureaucracy, where a simple loan application can lead to a frustrating maze of paperwork and dusty stamps. None of that now. The city wants to respond to all requests for emergency aid – some 300,000 are predicted – as quickly as possible.
No state is copying Berlin right now. This may have to do with the left-wing city council. Unlike the rest of Germany, Berlin has a strong left-wing political tradition. The coalition of social democrats (SPD), socialists (Die Linke) and greens (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen) is keen to save tens of thousands of small entrepreneurs, mostly active in the rich cultural sector of Berlin.
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