The global proliferation of makerspaces is transforming entrepreneurship. Makerspaces function as collaborative hubs where entrepreneurs can access diverse technological resources to innovate, collaborate, and produce both physical and digital artifacts. Positioned as facilitators of innovation and entrepreneurial ventures, makerspaces attract substantial investment. Despite the rising interest in this role of makerspaces, academic research on their effectiveness in stimulating firm formation lags behind their proliferation. This study addresses this gap by quantitatively assessing the relationship between makerspaces and regional firm formation across German counties over 15 years. Moreover, it explores regional characteristics influencing the impact of makerspaces. While our findings demonstrate an overall positive relationship between the number of makerspaces in a region and regional firm formation rates, this relationship is shown to be contingent on regional characteristics. It is particularly pronounced for urban regions, regions with a high share of students in the population, strong secondary sectors, high gross domestic product, and high investment in research and development. Implications for theory and policymakers are discussed
