KfW Capital Award 2024

Award for “Best Female Investor” und “Best Impact Investor”

From April 2, 2024 to July 1, 2024, investors can apply for the KfW Capital Awards in the categories "Best Female Investor" and "Best Impact Investor", which are awarded for the third time this year. With the KfW Capital Award "Best Female Investor", KfW Capital honors female venture capital (VC) investors who successfully invest in start-ups and innovative tech companies in Germany. The KfW Capital Award "Best Impact Investor" focuses on investors and/or their VC funds who have made impact an integral part of their investment strategy and who invest in start-ups and innovative technology companies in Germany.

For the first time this year, KfW Capital is also awarding a special prize in the "Best Emerging Manager" category. No separate application is required for this. The jury members will select the winner (individual or VC fund) from all applications received for the regular categories "Best Female Investor" and "Best Impact Investor". All three categories are endowed with EUR 5,000 each.

A review of the KfW Capital Award 2023 and 2022 with the winners can be found on the following pages:

Robert Habeck and Stefan Wintels at the ceremony — Robert Habeck (Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action) and Stefan Wintels (Chief Executive Officer at KfW Group and Chair of the Supervisory Board of KfW Capital) at the ceremony.

Robert Habeck announces the EMF on stage at the ceremony — During the award ceremony, federal minister Robert Habeck announced a new module of the "Zukunftsfonds" (Future Fund): the "Emerging Manager Facility".

Winner Tim Schumacher on stage — "Best Impact Investor"

Winner: Tim Schumacher

KfW Vorstandsvorsitzender Stefan Wintels auf der Bühne — Stefan Wintels, Chief Executiv Officer of KfW Group and Chair of the Supervisory Board of KfW Capital, on stage with moderator Jana Linke.

Itziar Estevez und Tim Schumacher bei der Preisverleihung des KfW Capital Awards 2023 — This year's winners: Itziar Estevez, Partner at IRIS, and Tim Schumacher, Manging General Partner at World Fund.

Die Trophäe des KfW Capital Awards 2023 — These are the trophies for this year.

Dr. Stefan Peiß, Itziar Estevez and Tim Schumacher at the ceremony — Dr. Stefan Peiß, member of the KfW Group Executive Board, Chief Risk Officer and deputy chair of the Supervisory Board of KfW Capital, together with our winners Itziar Estevez and Tim Schumacher.

Group picture of all the winners — All the winners of the KfW Award Gründen and the KfW Capital Award 2023 at the ceremony in the "Bar jeder Vernunft" in Berlin.

Dr. Jörg Goschin, Itziar Estevez and Theresa Bardubitzki at the ceremony — From left to right: Dr. Jörg Goschin (Co-CEO of KfW Capital), Itziar Estevez ("Best Female Investor" and Partner at IRIS), and Theresa Bardubitzki (Sustainability Manager at KfW Capital).

The CEOs of KfW Capital about the award:

Dr Jörg Goschin: “Things are moving – slowly. In 2023, the share of capital invested by venture companies headed by women nearly doubled around the world. But that was only three per cent of the total capital invested. This is reason enough for us to draw attention to the topic of women and diversity with the KfW Capital Award of ‘Best Female Investor’ in the third year as well.”

Alexander Thees: ““We see progress in the field of impact investing as well, although the need for ‘big’ solutions remains high. This is another issue we want to raise awareness about once again – with the category of ‘Best Impact Investor’. We will also be awarding the special prize for ‘Best Emerging Manager’ for the first time to shine a spotlight on emerging VC funds and fund managers, who are so important for expanding the VC ecosystem”,

Eligibility

The KfW Capital Award is aimed at investors from Europe with a connection to Germany as an investment location who stand out for their special deals, commitment or presence in the VC ecosystem. The application phase began on April 2, 2024 and ends on July 1, 2024. Interested parties can find the online application form at: kfw-awards.de

Read here the press release about the KfW Capital Award 2024.

A high-ranking five-member jury chose the winners:

Jury „Best Female Investor“

Alex von Frankenberg, Managing Director of High-Tech Gründerfonds
Ulrike Hinrichs, Managing Director of the German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, BVK
Prof. Heike Hölzner, Professor of Entrepreneurship and SME Management at Berlin University of Applied Sciences and Co-Chair of encourageventures e.V
Dr Eva Wimmer, Head of the Financial Markets Department at the Federal Ministry of Finance
KfW Capital: Dr Jörg Goschin, Managing Director of KfW Capital, and Theresa Bardubitzki, Sustainability Manager

Jury „Best Impact Investor“

Dr Sabine Hepperle, Head of the SME Policy Department at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Verena Kempe, Head of Investment Management at KENFO – German Nuclear Waste Management Fund
Felix Oldenburg, CEO of project bcause and Board Spokesman of gut.org gAG
Dr Andreas Rickert, PHINEO Executive Board, Co-CEO of Nixdorf Kapital, Executive Board of the Federal Impact Investing Initiative
KfW Capital: Alexander Thees, Managing Director of KfW Capital, and Theresa Bardubitzki, Sustainability Manager of KfW Capital