Congratulations to all the winners of this year's 2024!
Juliane Hahn, Founding Partner and Managing Partner at Signature Ventures, is “Best Female Investor 2024”.
Xavier Sarras, Founding Partner at 4P CAPITAL, is “Best Impact Investor 2024”.
For the first time this year, a special prize has also been awarded in the category of “Best Emerging Manager” – to Nucleus Capital (Dr Isabella Fandrych and Maximilian Schwarz)
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.
What the jury for Best Female Investor said about Juliane Hahn:
The legal expert Juliane Hahn has been active in the VC ecosystem throughout her entire professional career, first as a lawyer and consultant, later as a tech investor: She is the Founding Partner, GP and Managing Director at the VC fund Signature Ventures, which was founded in 2019 and through which she and her team invest in early-stage-start-ups in the areas of blockchain, distributed ledger and Web3 technologies. Juliane Hahn is convinced that diverse teams offer added value. She has therefore put together not only a diverse team in a deep-tech sector, but also a diverse portfolio. The success proves her right – her track record is outstanding. Her commitment to the ecosystem is also impressive. Juliane Hahn is a member of the Management Board of the German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and a mentor of numerous start-ups. She regularly shares her expertise in lectures at Munich Technical University and actively advocates for the promotion of female business angels, among others at the encourageventures Academy.
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.
What the jury for Best Impact Investor said about Xavier Sarras:
Ever since he successfully sold his marketing agency with more than 200 employees in 2017, Xavier Sarras has focused exclusively on impact investing with the motivation of creating value added for society. Today, Xavier Sarras is an experienced investor and angel investor in this field. As a Founding Partner at 4P Capital, he invests in start-ups and growth enterprises that offer sustainable and transformative solutions. Economic growth and social benefits are always his top priority. He has built up a strong portfolio and actively works as a mentor for up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Sarras is known for his extensive network in the European, particularly the Franco-German, impact start up and investor scene. He also regularly attends conferences in order to share his insights into sustainable investment strategies.
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".
What the juries said about Nucleus Capital (selected for Best Emerging Manager from all applications received):
Young, diverse and specialised – attributes that describe a promising emerging manager fund, all of which apply to Nucleus Partner. With its founding partners Dr Isabella Fandrych and Maximilian Schwarz, Nucleus Capital invests in the fields of programmable biology, ‘food technology and green industrials as a highly specialised fund manager. In the deep-tech niche, it creates genuine value added for young VC funds that wish to invest in its start-ups. The way it is positioned and its expertise make the founding duo – as well as the entire team –particularly well-suited to accompany start-ups in their early stage.
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:
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”,
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.
