There are few business locations in Germany as attractive as the region of Munich and Upper Bavaria. The area stretching from the Alps to the Altmühl Valley is home to over 367,000 companies working in industry, commerce and services – including everything from one-man shows to global players.

The Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria has made promoting this variety of business lines and the healthy mix of small, mid-sized and large companies in the region its job. With over 367,000 member companies we are the largest Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Germany.

As the parliament of the business world, we lobby at the federal, state (länder) and local levels of government for economic policies that open up sustainable growth and development perspectives for companies in Upper Bavaria.

The Chamber of Industry and Commerce carries out public responsibilities conferred to it by the state on behalf of the companies. This includes providing examinations in vocational training, appointing and swearing in legal experts or issuing certificates of origin for export.

One of our main tasks is helping companies secure their expert staff. The Chambers of Industry and Commerce in Germany are by law responsible for registering vocational training contracts for trainees in industry, trade and service, as well as for setting them formative and final exams. In our Chamber area alone there are over 16,000 new trainee contracts every year, and more than 30,000 formative and final exams. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce also screens and inducts companies into the vocational training system, to assure that they are up to the job.

Next to these statutory responsibilities we provide our member companies with a multitude of services. They range from consulting to vocational and advanced training, and include help with start-ups, subsidies for innovation, and legal and tax advice.

In addition, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce advocates fair play and sustainability in business. We make rules transparent and make sure that they are upheld – in the interest of honest enterprise. We advocate sustainable business, and owe allegiance to the model of the honorable merchant.

All of this is administrated autonomously by the companies. The members are the ones who define what direction and focus the Chambers of Industry and Commerce in Germany should take, and who provide the financing. All companies in industry, commerce or service are, by law, members of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

The amount of each company’s contribution is determined by its economic prowess: Large companies bear the lion’s share, smaller companies make only small contributions. Over 40 percent of the member companies do not pay anything at all. In the decision-making bodies of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria, the Chamber General Assembly and the 14 regional bodies, however, the companies all have the same right to vote, be they large or small.