Founder
competition

Economic- and location
marketing

Founders wanted!

Since 2018, the “Founders’ Award of the City of Dessau-Roßlau” has been offered annually for outstanding achievements by company founders. The competition is organized by the Office of Economic Development in cooperation with the Stadtmarketinggesellschaft Dessau-Roßlau mbH, the Halle-Dessau Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Wirtschafts- und Industrieclub Anhalt e. V.  (WIC), the Wirtschaftsjunioren Dessau e. V. and the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. With a small delay due to the pandemic, the starting signal for the third edition of the competition was given on October 1, 2020.

The competition is looking for interesting start-ups with technological, ecological, societal or social innovation potential that convince the jury – composed of the cooperation partners – in the long term. All independent micro and small enterprises in all sectors that have fewer than 50 employees and no more than an annual turnover or annual balance sheet total of 10 million euros (definition of the Commission of the European Union) and were founded after December 31, 2017, are eligible to participate.

Business successions, start-ups from unemployment and those returning to work – both as full-time and part-time start-ups – are also expressly invited to participate.

Applications can be submitted until March 31, 2021. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place in an appropriate setting in the early summer of next year – subject to the regulations in force until then.

A total of three prizes will be awarded, with prize money and non-cash prizes of over 4,000 euros provided by the cooperation partners. In addition, each prize winner will receive an annual membership of the Wirtschaftsjunioren Dessau worth EUR 120 each.

All further information including the participation documents can be found at www.gründen-in-dessau.de.