Serviceplan Campaign Hamburg and METRO Support Germany’s Youngest Entrepreneurs

The recently published METRO International Own Business Study which was conducted in ten countries with 10,000 participants, proves that women are very interested in entrepreneurship: Almost every second woman dreams of her own business!

However, only a few actually dare to take the step into self-employment: Only 12% of all women believe that it is "very likely" that they will put their plan into action, according to one of the study results.

What is stopping them? One of the main reasons, given by 49%, was with the "lack of financial support".

On today's International Women's Day, METRO is responding to these insights with a unique campaign: In Dusseldorf, the headquarters of METRO, every newborn girl becomes an "Own Business Girl" and receives her first own business card on the day of her birth. This is however, much more than just a piece of paper, it is the ticket for a fixed-term deposit worth 2,000 Euro, set up for each individual girl by the Dusseldorf-based retail group with the support of the HypoVereinsbank. On their 18th birthday, the girls will get access to this funding, which can be used for a first business adventure, for example.

The idea was developed by Serviceplan Campaign Hamburg.

Global Chief Creative Officer Alexander Schill: "With #OwnBusinessGirls METRO shows that they believe in the female entrepreneurs of tomorrow.” Serviceplan Campaign Hamburg promotes the campaign with the support of achtung! at various touchpoints. By means of the daily press, radio spots, Out-of-home surfaces and in social media, attention is drawn to the promotion around International Women's Day. There was a lot of help with the implementation, for example hospitals in Dusseldorf and the Union of Midwives support the action by helping to locate the "Own Business Girls”. Once the names have been determined, the exclusive business cards will be produced in collaboration with the "Letterjazz" printing house in Essen and handed over to the parents and the young "Own Business Girls" at an event in Dusseldorf.

Family members of girls born on today's International Women's Day in the city of Dusseldorf - parents, grandparents, aunts or siblings - can simply reach out by mail to obg@metro.de.

The contact details of the submitter should include: first name, last name, telephone number, e-mail address and family relationship to the child. METRO will then be in contact with further details. The girls must be born between 00:00 o’clock and 24:00 o'clock on March 8, 2018 in the city of Dusseldorf. Registrations of "Own Business Girls" are possible until March 31, 2018. METRO will release the names of the newborns, in case the patens agree. The HypoVereinsbank – Member of UniCredit supports the cause with a fixed-term account including a guaranteed interest of 2% p.a. for each “Own Business Girl”. 

All information and the general conditions of the campaign are now also available at www.metro.de.