Nonprofit entity HAUS61 has become an extremely successful launching pad for logistics startups, paving their way to business maturity. Numerous examples prove the farsighted approach of the concept which was introduced in 2019. Six selected startups per year are given the opportunity of a 12-month scholarship to fine-tune their strategy and present their concept to the market. They are supported by mentors who link the newcomers with established logistics players. This year, HAUS61 is co-organizing the upcoming Air Cargo Community Frankfurt (ACCF) trade show (02-04SEP25). CargoForwarder Global (CFG) spoke with HAUS61 initiator and CEO, Hendrik Bender (HB) about the logistics accelerator’s involvement in orchestrating parts of the event. Here are his considerations.
HB: HAUS61 has already been part of the Air Cargo Conference organizing committee in previous years, particularly in the area of innovation, where we brought in speakers and startups.
This year, for the 10th anniversary of ACCF, everything is on a larger scale – that’s why we decided to join forces with Air Cargo Community e.V. as co-organizers to take this anniversary conference to the next level.
CFG: Attendees might be interested to know what exactly HAUS61 intends to contribute to the trade show. Please illustrate.
HB: This year, there will be a dedicated Innovation Stage and a Startup Innovation Award, sponsored by Lufthansa Cargo.
As co-organizer of the Air Cargo Conference, we are responsible for curating and moderating presentations and panel discussions focusing on sustainability and innovation topics, as well as organizing and leading the Startup Innovation Award featuring selected startups.
CFG: What exactly does HAUS61 do to pave the way for startups to achieve business success?
HB: HAUS61 is based on four pillars:
1.) Hosting: We provide office and meeting space in the Cargo City South at Frankfurt Airport, free of charge for a certain period of time to selected startups.
2.) Connecting: Under our motto ‘Innovation meets Industry’, our main mission – and also our unique selling point compared to many other accelerators – is to bring startups with smart solutions for the air cargo industry together with established players in the air cargo industry, so that they can jointly develop practical use cases.
3.) Scouting: We offer corporations support in the targeted search for startups for topics/problems that they bring to us.
4.) Networking: Thanks to our neutrality, we offer the ideal platform for startups and corporations to engage, share ideas, and build new connections through our networking events.
All these efforts support startups on their journey from theoretical concepts to market-ready solutions.
CFG: Are there one or two illustrative examples of the successful development of individual startups that have used HAUS61 as a platform?
HB: Absolutely – there are several examples. One of our earliest success stories is logistics.cloud, led by Niko Hossain. Over five years of collaboration, the startup has managed to establish itself as a key platform for data exchange in logistics and has since merged with Lobster. It’s a tremendous success story and we’re proud that logistics.cloud – now Lobster – remains a close partner of HAUS61.
Another recent success story is Stargo AI Solutions. They reached out to us a year ago with a smart AI solution, seeking to expand their successful U.S. business into Europe, focusing on Germany. Just a year later, founder Joel Sellam and his team have secured several use cases with logistics corporations and signed their first contracts – transitioning from a startup to a scale-up.
CFG: Do you plan to establish similar HAUS61 facilities to promote logistics start-ups at other airports, such as Munich, Berlin, or Hamburg?
HB: Our base is Frankfurt Airport, which we believe is the most suitable development platform – it’s one of Europe’s largest cargo hubs.
From here, we’ve managed to establish our networking events as pre-events to international logistics trade fairs since 2024, including the TIACA Air Cargo Forum in Miami and the recent transport logistic/Air Cargo Europe in Munich.
These events were very well received, and we are expanding this series further. We’re in talks with various organizers about additional collaborations. So, while we are rooted in Frankfurt, our approach and activities are global.
CFG: How is HAUS61 financed and what are its medium-term plans?
HB: HAUS61 is financed by partners from industry and through networking events. These revenues enable us to provide the four pillars of HAUS61 to the start-up world free of charge.
In addition to our founding partners, Cargo Steps and Sovereign, we are very proud of our long-standing supporters and partners, such as Fraport, LUG, Condor, National Aircargo, FCS, Çelebi, Lobster, Dakosy, Aviapharm, and many more.
I don’t want to reveal too much about our medium-term plans yet, but recommend staying tuned
CFG: Hendrik, thank you for your time and the input.
