Engage & Connect was the motto of our networking event with more than 70 guests. The motto was both about the many connections between people in Kiel and San Francisco as well as the joint implementation of ideas and projects in and for Schleswig-Holstein. 

In his welcoming address, US Consul General Jason Chue emphasized the strong partnership between America and Germany in both the social and economic spheres. The promotion of women and women-led start-ups as well as the mutual exchange on AI and green technologies are particularly interesting for joint technological progress. 

"We had many good discussions on these and other topics during our delegation trip," confirmed Julia Carstens, State Secretary in the SH Ministry of Economic Affairs. The speed of technological developments in Silicon Valley is breathtaking, and the mindset and culture of entrepreneurship is infectious. "Think big also applies to us," she explained, "because we also saw that our ideas, expertise and solutions here in Schleswig-Holstein are good." 

An experience that the current high-flyer start-ups share after one or two intensive weeks in the Bay Area. The ideas from SH were able to keep up during the speed pitching at Plug and Play Tech Center. Bastian Klemke from Plantobelly was deeply impressed by the mindset "my network is also your network" and how every encounter - even a chance encounter in his case - can lead to the next important conversation partner and source of inspiration. "I'm fired up and have an incredible number of ideas for Plantobelly."

This also applies to Henning Winterfeld from nascit GmbH. As a later-stage start-up, he used the extra week in Silicon Valley to make new contacts and has since been able to pitch not only at the Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator but also to the development department of an international tech group. The fact that there are good ideas for the connection to San Francisco in all areas of society can be seen at Project & Opportunities. Here, members and partners presented their current projects and ideas for participation.