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Press Release from 2018-05-02 / Group, Domestic Promotion

Calling all successful entrepreneurs: now is the time to apply for the 2018 KfW Entrepreneurs' Award corporate competition

  • Online application for businesses/successions established in or after 2013
  • Participation is possible until 1 August 2018
  • Awards will be presented to one company from each of the German federal states and one national winner
  • One special Social Entrepreneurship Award and one "people's choice" award
  • The award has a total prize fund of EUR 35,000

Yesterday marked the start of the application phase for this year's KfW Entrepreneurs' Award, which boasts a total prize fund of EUR 35,000. With this renowned competition, KfW Group honours young companies from all over Germany and gives their concepts the public recognition they deserve.

The award is presented as part of the deGUT (Deutsche Gründer- und Unternehmertage), the largest German trade fair for business start-ups and entrepreneurship. A prize is awarded to one company from each of the German states. The company must have been formed or taken over as part of a succession in or after 2013. The winners from each state will be awarded EUR 1,000. They then go on to compete for the national award, which is endowed with additional prize money of EUR 9,000. The national champion is announced on the evening of the award ceremony. All prize winners have the opportunity to introduce themselves on stage in a bid to win the people's choice award, which is voted for by the guests in the room (additional prize money of EUR 5,000). One company from among all the applicants pursuing a social issue will receive the special Social Entrepreneurship Award worth EUR 5,000.

The winners are selected by a jury of experienced representatives from KfW Group and the worlds of politics and business, for example from the promotional institutions of the federal states and from chambers of industry and commerce. The jury assesses the business ideas based on their level of innovation and creativity and also whether they are socially responsible. The jury also places significant emphasis on how environmentally friendly the business is and whether jobs and trainee positions have been created or maintained. Companies from all sectors of industry can enter.

The prizes will be awarded on 11 October 2018 at the kick-off event of the deGUT conference held at the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy in Berlin. All competition winners will be invited to Berlin between
11 and 13 October, including hotel accomodation, programme of activities and visit of the deGUT conference. Furthermore, one person from each of the winning companies is given the opportunity to take part in a seminar at impulse-Akademie. The winners will also be provided with support from a PR agency on how to market their success story.

Further information and the online application form can be found at www.kfw-awards.de (available only in German).

Contact

Portrait von Sonja Höpfner

Ms.

Sonja Höpfner

Press Office KfW Capital

+49 69 74 31 32 66