Future Hamburg Award 2023: On The Lookout for Pioneering International Startups
HAMBURG, GERMANY, April 19, 2023 - The Future Hamburg Award, the worldwide competition for startups from the fields of logistics, mobility and greentech, is now open for applications. New enterprises can apply until 9 July 2023 at www.future.hamburg/award. The three selected winners will be announced in Hamburg on 5 October 2023. The Future Hamburg Award is in its third edition this year.
The award is aimed at honouring innovative startups whose business model and products or services have an impact on sustainability and quality of life. The focus here is on innovations that can help improve city life in the realms of greentech, mobility and logistics – because cities around the world are facing similar challenges, from climate change to housing, and from increasing traffic to population density.
Hamburg’s Minister of Economy and Innovation, Dr Melanie Leonhard, says: “What will the city of the future look like? This is something we are deciding on today, and it requires powerful ideas. The Future Hamburg Award 2023 is directed at startups that continue to develop momentum in the areas of logistics, mobility and greentech. We are looking for solutions that can improve quality of life and sustainability in our city. Being a centre of innovation, Hamburg offers ample leeway and an inspiring environment for this.”
Dr Rolf Strittmatter, Chairman of the Executive Board of Hamburg Marketing GmbH and Managing Director of Hamburg Invest: “With this award, we are supporting pioneering startups from all over the world in realising their innovation- and technology-based business models in Hamburg so as to create sustainable solutions for the future competitiveness of cities.”
A distinguished jury of leading experts from the fields of change management, mobility, logistics, greentech and innovation will be reviewing all incoming submissions and will select the three winning startups.
Jury members: Arno Baltruschat (OTTO DOCK 6), Dr Ralf Belusa (Hapag-Lloyd AG/ PHOENIX Group), Timo Linnemann (Plug and Play Nordics), Simone Lode (HHLA Next GmbH), Veronika Reichboth (Startup Unit, Hamburg Invest), Ronja Stoffregen (DB Schenker), Petra Vorsteher (AI.STARTUP.HUB Hamburg), Georg Zembacher (Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics Europe GmbH).
The competition is open to national and international companies that have been in business for at least two years and no more than four years, and have a digital, sustainable business model.
The first place winners will be invited to attend a one-month international accelerator programme at the headquarters of Plug and Play Tech Center in Silicon Valley, California. The second place winners will be able to take part in a mentoring programme provided by a team of experienced, established experts in technology innovation, and the winners of the third place will be able to attend an individual corporate readiness workshop with Plug and Play. In addition, all of the winning teams will be offered in-depth pitch training to help them stay ahead in the startup game.
“We are proud to be able to support the Future Hamburg Award with our international network and thus contribute to shaping Hamburg’s international innovation ecosystem. The award offers the opportunity to share expertise, integrate ecosystems, promote startups and develop long-term strategies for urban living across industries and countries,” says Sallar Faridi, Senior Director at Plug and Play.
The winners will be announced and awarded as part of a festive event during the international Plug and Play Expo on 5 October. Taking place at Factory Hammerbrooklyn in Hamburg, the awards ceremony will be streamed live on YouTube.
Applications open until July 9, 2023 at www.future.hamburg/award. The winners will be announced on October 5, 2023.
Hamburg and the Future Hamburg Award
With over 1.8 million residents, the Hanseatic City of Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany. Embracing the latest and most advanced technologies, Hamburg has become an international centre and a model region for innovative mobility solutions of the future. With the Future Hamburg Award, Hamburg aims to honour startups that have demonstrated strong momentum in their industry in terms of innovation, impact and growth. The Future Hamburg Award was initiated in 2018 by Hamburg Marketing GmbH in close collaboration with Hamburg Invest.
About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 50+ locations across 5 continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/
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