Business start-ups reach a new peak in 2025
Keystone-SDA
Switzerland reached a new peak in company start-ups this year: up by more than 5% year-on-year, they will reach a record 55,654 in 2025. Among the French-speaking cantons, Geneva, Fribourg and Jura were particularly active.
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The most common business segments for new companies are consulting, handicraft and real estate, followed by services and architecture and engineering, the IFJ Institute for Young Enterprises reported in a press release on Wednesday.
At the same time, bankruptcies also rose sharply, jumping by almost a third to 14,958. However, this is partly due to a change in regulations on January 1, 2025. Since then, public authorities and companies governed by public law have also had to declare bankruptcy.
+ More than 6,000 firms went bust in SwitzerlandExternal link
According to Claude Federer, Director of the creditors’ association Creditreform, this new regulation has led to a significant increase in the number of companies undergoing formal bankruptcy proceedings.
By regional comparison, Central Switzerland (+13.3%) has been very dynamic, far ahead of the other regions.
Twenty of the 26 cantons were able to report an increase in business start-ups. Four of them – Zug, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Obwalden and Schaffhausen – even recorded growth of more than 15%.
With increases of 8.6% and 4.8% respectively, Geneva and Valais are among the most dynamic cantons in French-speaking Switzerland, followed by Fribourg and Jura. Ticino is one of the only cantons to experience a decline in business start-ups (-2.5%) in 2025.
According to the IFJ, the current dynamics of business start-ups and bankruptcies illustrate the adaptability of the Swiss economy.
Adapted from Italian by AI/jdp
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