Increase in Swiss business start-ups in Q1

The number of business start-ups in Switzerland accelerated in the first three months of the year, with entrepreneurs being particularly dynamic in Central Switzerland, Basel and Geneva. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox In all, some 13,983 companies were founded in the first quarter, an increase of 3.9% year-on-year, according to a survey published on Monday by the IFJ Institute of Entrepreneurs and PostFinance Bank. A jump of 40.9% was seen in canton Obwalden and 32.4% in neighbouring Nidwalden. Appenzell Inner Rhodes (+44.8%), Schaffhausen (+28.3%), Zug (+21.2%) and Geneva (+19.2%) also posted strong growth rates. In contrast, business start-ups collapsed in Uri (-27.9%), Glarus (-18.8%) and Jura (-11.2%). + Start-ups, failures and funding: the Swiss company landscape The most dynamic sectors over the past three months include consultancy firms, craftsmen and real estate. To explain this positive trend, the authors of the study cite "personal reasons".