The HVB Women Entrepreneurship Mentoring Program is entering its fourth round. And now it's been confirmed: among the six winners are three women from Munich.
In the fourth round of the HVB Women's Entrepreneurship Mentoring Program, six participants impressed the jury of HypoVereinsbank, HVB Women's Advisory Council members, and cooperation partners with their business ideas and have now received a place in the support program. All ideas this time come from the STEM fields.
"There are many female founders in Germany. With their ideas, they are significantly driving technological progress and digital transformation. Germany needs many more of these committed, innovative female entrepreneurs."
said Dr. Theodor Weimer, Spokesman of the Management Board of HypoVereinsbank.
Particularly pleasing for the Munich startup location: With Rike Brand, Katharina Kreitz and Manuela Rasthofer Three of the six winners of the 2016 HVB Women Founders Mentoring program come from the state capital. They are supported with years of expertise and practical tips on their path to starting their own businesses.
All winners at a glance:
- Rike Brand, SINN Power – Wave power plant for renewable energy from ocean waves
- Katharina Kreitz, Vectorflow – Fluid dynamic measurement technology for recording flow parameters
- Verena Kretschmann, Anvajo – Mini-lab for rapid biomarker tests (point-of-care)
- Manuela Rasthofer, TerraLoupe – Intelligent recognition of geo-image content
- Julia Römer, Coolar – Refrigerators powered by heat instead of electricity
- Mareile Wölwer, KARLA – Digital livestock data collection in agriculture
Many years of experience and networks
Over the next six months, the six program participants will be supported by renowned mentors from the HVB Women's Advisory Board and startup specialists from HypoVereinsbank, providing valuable advice on key business decisions. The mentors, who are themselves experienced entrepreneurs and managers, will each form a so-called "tandem" with a female founder.
"Having brilliant ideas is a good start. Our goal is to encourage women to fight for their ideas, even in the face of headwinds, and thus assert themselves in their respective markets."
says Professor Susanne Porsche, member of the HVB Women's Advisory Council and head of the HVB Women Founders Mentoring initiative. At the same time, the mentees participate in an exclusive event program hosted by HypoVereinsbank and its partners, where they can build and expand their individual networks.
A total of over 650 female founders applied for the HVB Female Founder Mentoring program between 2012 and 2016. This resulted in 25 promising and innovative business ideas that were supported and promoted through the program.
