(roughly equivalent to a private limited company)

The German government has presented draft proposals to help simplify and speed up the process of setting up a GmbH.
The proposals, put together by the federal cabinet, are seen as a key component of the initiative to encourage small and medium-sized businesses. They contain the following central points: 

• Reduction of the minimum capital for a GmbH from 25,000 to 10,000 euros
• Option of setting up a special kind of mini GmbH called a “haftungsbeschränkte Unternehmergesellschaft” with start-up capital of just 1 euro
• No need for notarisation when setting up a GmbH if a set template is used for the company’s articles of association
• Faster entry into the register of companies by making this process completely independent from the approval procedures required under administrative law (pd)