Germany being forced to give up their colonial possessions would definitely damage their economy.
One reason why is because these colonies were places where Germans could sell their goods to African citizens. When businesses have the opportunity to sell their goods to other markets, it increases the amount of money they can make.
Another reason why this would be economic is because Germany would now lose out on natural resources found in these areas. When a country colonizes another country/territory, they have the ability to gain resources that are unavailable in their native land. Ultimately, this leads to less resources overall for the German economy.