beyond economy Festival 2026: the stage is set for tomorrow's economy

Munich, September 22, 2026 – The stage is set for the future of the economy: taking place for the third time on October 28, 2026 in Munich, the beyond economy Festival puts one question at its centre: how do companies shape the future successfully? Under the motto "Shaping tomorrow's economy together," the House of Communications hosts the central themes of our time – new business models and intelligent forms of collaboration, dealing with AI and future skills, as well as social innovation and questions of energy and resources.

"We are the festival for the economy of the future. beyond economy thrives on exchange, interaction, co-creation and the connection of different perspectives. At the beyond economy Festival, visionaries meet entrepreneurial thought leaders and successful doers, and work together on concrete solutions for the future," says Michael Schwienbacher, initiator of the festival. "Throughout the year, beyond economy connects people who want to actively shape the transformation of the economy."

Vision Agenda 2040 by The Future:Project and beyond economy

The common thread of this year's festival is the Vision Agenda 2040 by beyond economy and The Future:Project: a continuously evolving future map for the German economy, developed jointly by the business community over the course of the year. Unlike classic future studies, the "Vision Agenda" offers several concrete target images of what a successful economy could look like in 2040 – and works backwards from there: what needs to happen for people and technology to work together productively? For the circular economy to become a business model? For companies to be handed over in a future-proof way? Feedback from around 500 entrepreneurs, innovation managers and selected experts in the economy of the future has gone into it. The future map will be presented for the first time at the festival on October 28.

The Vision Agenda translates the festival's central principle of "People, Planet and Profit" into concrete perspectives and strategies: "People, Planet and Profit" stands for taking people along, handling resources responsibly and remaining economically successful.

Thought leaders of our time: entrepreneurs, futurists, social entrepreneurs

As the central meeting point of the movement, the beyond economy Festival brings together mid-sized companies, innovators, thought leaders and decision-makers as well as representatives from research and politics. Here, people who are already taking new paths meet those looking for orientation for their own transformation processes. Direct exchange gives rise to projects, partnerships and business models that translate into entrepreneurial action – practical and with a clear path to implementation.

This approach is reflected in the programme. This year's highlights include figures who illuminate key future topics from their own experience: Stefan Andresen, Chief Scientist at DeepL, futurist Tristan Horx of The Future:Project, Zarah Bruhn, founder of socialbee and innovation manager at SPRIND, the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, as well as the successful family entrepreneurs Florian Schörghuber, CEO of Schörghuber Gruppe, and Julia Ledermann, Chair of the Advisory Board of edding AG, who report on the realignment of family businesses.

More speakers:

• ·Stefan Andresen, Chief Scientist, DeepL, thought leader for language AI and agentic AI in enterprise use. He stands for the technological development of language models and the question of how AI can be put to concrete use in companies.
• ·Tristan Horx, futurist and co-founder of The Future:Project, thought leader of a new generation of futures research, focusing on generational questions, countertrends, future skills and new visions of the future for business and society.
• ·Julia Ledermann, Chair of the Advisory Board of edding AG, granddaughter of the company's founder, thought leader for the successful business development of family companies. She sheds light on the long-term realignment of the internationally active family business.
• ·Florian Schörghuber, CEO of Schörghuber Gruppe, thought leader for next gen leadership and the transformation of globally active family businesses. He talks about the task and responsibility of realigning a large family business.
• ·Zarah Bruhn, founder of socialbee and innovation manager at SPRIND, thought leader for social and societal disruptive innovation. At SPRIND she is building up the field of societal disruptive innovation and shows how social innovation creates entrepreneurial impact.
• ·Bastian Gierull, CEO of Octopus Energy Germany, thought leader for an intelligent energy transition. Using the example of Octopus Energy Germany with more than ten million customers, he shows how trust in new technologies emerges in the energy sector.
• ·Deepa Gautam-Nigge, Vice President Corporate Development, SAP, thought leader for innovation ecosystems and corporate venturing in an industrial context. She connects strategic investments, corporate innovation and the development of ecosystems.
• ·Christian Mohr, Managing Director, UnternehmerTUM, thought leader for connecting mid-sized companies, family businesses, start-ups and innovation ecosystems. He stands for translating cooperative innovation structures into business practice.
• ·Michael Schwienbacher, Chief Ecosystem Architect at festival organiser Sym, thought leader for a new form of economic collaboration. He talks about the strategic decisions companies have to make in uncertain times.

beyond economy – the movement for tomorrow's economy

beyond economy is a platform and a year-round movement for actively shaping an economy fit for the future. In a time of profound change, beyond economy brings together companies, decision-makers, start-ups, science, politics and multipliers to create orientation, open up new perspectives and develop concrete solutions for economic change. Over recent years beyond economy has built a community and connects its participants throughout the year. The beyond economy Festival in Munich is the central meeting point of this movement.

More than 100 partner organisations support the festival, among them family businesses and corporations such as Schörghuber Gruppe, Wellhub, Octopus Energy and Vitra. They are joined by financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and GLS Bank as well as strategic future partners such as The Future:Project and Enkelfähig e.V. The field is complemented by ecosystem partners such as UnternehmerTUM, CIRCULAR REPUBLIC and Maschinenraum, and by academic partners such as the Technical University of Munich. Alongside the stage programme, participants can engage directly in formats such as Future Skill Workshops, discussion rounds & barcamps and live challenges & co-creation sessions.

The full programme: 8 focus themes for tomorrow's economy

Welcome to the economy of 2040: to the Vision Agenda 2040

More information and tickets are available on the festival website.

About Sym: the organiser

Sym is an Ecosystem Development & Operations Company (EDO) and a pioneer for entrepreneurial ecosystems. Based on the Symworking economic model, Sym develops ecosystems for regions, real estate and industries – and increases the value of companies and places through symbiotic collaboration. The Symsuite forms the digital infrastructure for community building and ecosystem operations. Among others, Sym operates the Symworking Ecosystem for SMEs, which advances collaboration, digitalisation and the circular economy in practice, the Symtronics Ecosystem, the world's first ecosystem for the electronics industry, and the Technopark Sauerlach Ecosystem (real estate). With beyond economy, Sym creates spaces in which the economy shapes the future together.