Verena Pausder and Melanie Kehr are sitting in front of their notebooks
Dossier

Dossier

Inspiring women

They are very different, but they all have one thing in common: they are strong and want to make a difference. On the occasion of International Women's Day on 8 March, KfW Stories presents a dossier on inspiring women.

Image-Reference

On our website, pictures taken, among others, by the following photographers/photo agencies are used:

Agentur photothek.net, Deutsche Messe Hannover, Andreas Arnold, Jörg Böthling, Dominik Butzmann, Carsten Costard, Susanne Esche, Charlie Fawell, Rendel Freude, Torsten George, Gaby Gerster, David Greedy, Peter Himsel, Barbara Högner, Frank Homann, Fred Hoogervorst, Steffen Jagenburg (BRANSCH EUROPE), Thomas Klewar, Studio Kohlmeier , Florian Kopp, Georg Lopata, Jürgen Lösel, Kirsten Milhahn, Rüdiger Nehmzow, Rolf Obertreis, Rubén Arnaldo Farina Ortiz, Holger Peters, Joachim Röttgers, Mika Schmidt, Bernhard Schurian, Jens Steingässer, Pietro Sutera, Uwe Tölle, Jan Zappner.

Fotolia.com: amandare, Yuri Arcurs, Kitch Bain, Ingo Bartussek, Sergio Donà, drizzd, Dmitry Ersler, eyewave, Zoltán Futó, Eric Gevaert, Fotolia XXV, Friedberg, goodluz, Dirk Hoffmann, imageteam, Christian Jung, Abdelhamid Kalai, Sergej Khakimullin, Vladimir Kolobov, krizz7, Kzenon, lumen-digital, marog-pixcells, Mindwalker, Miredi, mirpic, Nebuto, Tino Neitz, Christian Pedant, Franz Pfluegl, prognone, Gina Sanders, Henry Schmitt, spree berlin, SVLuma, Kheng Guan Toh, tom, Torbz, typomaniac, VRD, Joachim Wendler, Sreedhar Yedlapati.

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Katharina Herrmann

“The housing market must be made more sustainable”

KfW Executive Board Member for domestic promotional business Katharina Herrmann on rising construction interest rates, climate-friendly construction promotion and the housing sector of the future.

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To the interview
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Winner of the KfW Capital Award “Best Female Investor” 2023

Three questions for the winner Itziar Estevez.

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Christiane Laibach, Excecutive Board Member of KfW

"Progress could be lost"

Interview with Christiane Laibach, KfW Executive Board member, on the occasion of International Women's Day about the importance of women in development cooperation and the promotion of women at KfW.

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Plenty of room for improvement

Rebuilding the economy after COVID-19 and tackling the climate crisis must go hand in hand. For Germany to achieve its target for climate action, it needs to tap into overlooked areas of potential to reduce its CO₂ emissions. In particular, this process will be essential for the transport sector. And there is even more that can be done with innovative building solutions.

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Read the interview with Sigrid Nikutta and Stefan Wintels
portrait of Sigrid Nikutta and Stefan Wintels

“A completely new dynamic”

DB Cargo CEO Sigrid Nikutta and KfW CEO Stefan Wintels on the decade of decision, the transformation to carbon neutrality and the competition for the best employees.

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Read article about the KfW Capital Awards
Sarah Littek receives award on stage

"We are looking for great solutions"

Interview with the winners of the KfW Capital Award, Manon Sarah Littek and Sebastian Heitmann, about insights into the VC market in Germany.

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Interview with Joan Carling
View over the national park Bukit Tigapuluh

“Our rights should be respected”

Indigenous populations are safeguarding a large part of the essential biodiversity on Earth but very often have no land titles. The Secretary-General of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, Joan Carling from the Philippines, says her peoples should finally be recognized as partners.

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Christiane Laibach, Excecutive Board Member of KfW

"Progress could be lost"

Interview with Christiane Laibach, KfW Executive Board member, on the occasion of International Women's Day about the importance of women in development cooperation and the promotion of women at KfW.

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To the interview
Katrin Böhning-Gaese

“People need nature – not the other way around”

Biologist, author and winner of the German Environmental Award 2021, Prof Dr Katrin Böhning-Gaese spoke to KfW Stories about the dangers of diminishing biodiversity and why the coronavirus crisis has offered a unique opportunity to make our economies greener.

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Two people run down a skyscraper wall secured by ropes

“Expect the unexpected”

Stefan Peiß, the member of KfW’s Executive Board responsible for risk management, and former stunt woman Miriam Höller discuss risk at work and in life – as well as climate risks, the new challenge in the field of risk management.

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Green apples hanging on a tree

"We want to change the sector"

Christina Ulardic, a partner at Belgian financial investor Astanor Ventures, on the food of the future, the importance of impact funds and cooperation with KfW.

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three young women and a dog standing on a meadow

For a better bark

Undesirable additives in feed can make animals sick. Three dog lovers from Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and their award-winning start-up 'Tales & Tails' have created healthy alternatives made from Icelandic fish.

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Dr. Kati Ernst and Kristine Zeller from ooia

Bottom-up revolution

Dr Kati Ernst and Kristine Zeller have developed period pants and are turning upside down a market that often lacks innovation– because the decision-makers are men. The two business founders are committed to female empowerment and focus their attention on women and their needs.

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To the interview
Verena Pausder and Melanie Kehr are sitting in front of their notebooks

Interview on the future

A conversation with two women who represent the future: start-up founder and author, Verena Pausder, and Melanie Kehr, Member of the Executive Board of KfW Group responsible for Information Technology and Transaction Management, discuss how innovation is being promoted in Germany, the power of crises – and the qualities people will need to have in a digital future.

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HitchOn Mainz

“Like Tupperware parties – but digitally”

HitchOn, an agency for YouTube and influencer marketing, supports companies in utilising the new advertising market for themselves in a fair way. The start-up company of Sarah Kübler was chosen as the winner of the KfW Entrepreneurs’ Award for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in 2019.

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Foundress of Gourmandise Radhia Kamoun Megdiche

The sweet dream of Gourmandise

AfricInvest is an investment company from Tunis that provides help to small and medium-sized enterprises. The example of Radhia Kamoun Megdiche shows how important this support is. Thanks to the financing, she was able to make her mother’s dream come true.

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Visit the award winner’s profile
Foundress Claudia Valder

Pure plant power

The healing power of plants is used in creams, medicinal teas or cough syrup. Strict rules apply to the use of medicinal essences or preparations. Claudia Valder from Systema Natura is committed to traceable manufacturing, and this work led to the company winning the regional KfW Entrepreneurs’ Award 2019 for Schleswig-Holstein.

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Article about a Nigerian woman took off with children's clothing
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The rocky road to her own flagship store

Adenike Ogunlesi owns Nigeria’s leading children’s clothing brand. It was only when she received financial support from long-standing DEG customer Access Bank, that the entrepreneur was able to take off.

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Antje von Dewitz, managing director of Vaude

”There's still a long way to go to reach the top“

Vaude, a company that produces mountain sports equipment, was named Germany's most sustainable brand in 2015. For managing director Antje von Dewitz, this distinction is an important milestone – but nowhere near the end of the road.

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Portrait Lenna Koszarny

”I am a rarity“

Private equity has traditionally been a male domain. Only one in ten leading positions in the industry worldwide is filled by a woman. Lenna Koszarny is one of them.

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Monique Wasunna and her fight against neglected tropical diseases

”Health is a human right“

Monique Wasunna campaigns for research on new drugs that treat neglected tropical diseases and for these drugs to be made available on the market at affordable prices. Interview with the Interview with the Africa Director of Drugs for Neglected Diseases.

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Julia and Rolf Schnitzler of Strassburger Filter

”From the beginning, my father felt I was capable“

Julia Schnitzler is the managing director of Strassburger Filter in the fourth generation. The process engineer explains how she holds her own as a woman in this male-dominated industry and what she does differently from her father.

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Angelique Songco Tubbataha Reef

”It's not a job, it's a mission“

Angelique Songco is committed to protecting 10,000 hectares of coral reefs in the Philippines' Sulu Sea. KfW Stiftung presented her with the KfW-Bernhard-Grzimek Prize 2019 for Biodiversity in recognition of her work.

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Paving the way to confidence

Thanks to Sinnova Communication and Innovation Centre (KIZ for short) in Offenbach, Germany, and the enterprise Social Business Women, large numbers of women are now making their professional dreams a reality. KfW Stiftung is supporting the project, which is run by women, for women.

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Boss in cake paradise

In Limlingerode in the southern Harz mountains in Germany, Marie-Theres Mund serves up the best cakes in the area in a former farmhouse. Set up as part of a succession project, “Ländliche Kaffeestuben” was the state champion for Thuringia in the KfW Entrepreneurs' Award 2018.

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Founders of start-up Daheim

Digital language café

Video telephone platform "Daheim" (“Home“) enables refugees in particular to learn German in a virtual environment. A profile of the start-up and its contribution to social participation among refugees.

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