The KfW Capital Award honors outstanding personalities from the European venture capital ecosystem with a special connection to Germany as an investment location. Prizes are awarded to individuals who stand out through exceptional deals, commitment or their work in the VC sector. The award complements the KfW Entrepreneurs’ Award with the perspective of investors.
The KfW Capital Award for the Best Female Investor acknowledges female venture capital investors who have successfully invested in start-ups and innovative technology companies in Germany.
Dr Carolin Gabor is a versatile and successful expert in the venture capital ecosystem. She began her career as a consultant at BCG. She then switched sides to the start-up level, taking positions as CEO at TopTarif.de and autohaus24.de. Both companies were successfully sold under her direction. She then held various roles as an investor before founding the early-stage fund Caesar in May 2023, where she has since been the Managing Partner. Her career history is characterised by outstanding analytical skills and a good feel for promising innovations with which she successfully advances digital business models. As a female leader, she is now setting standards by demonstrating how leadership, technical competence and entrepreneurial action can work together to make the financial and insurance industry more sustainable and user-friendly in the future. Holder of a PhD from the RWTH Aachen University, she is not only a successful investor but very active across the VC ecosystem. Among other roles, she has been a member of the German FinTechRat advisory council at the German Federal Ministry of Finance since 2019.
Since 2023, Miki Yokoyama has been systematically developing the investment company Aurum Impact of the GOLDBECK Group as a founding partner into a forward-looking impact investor. Aurum Impact makes targeted investments in enterprises and funds that create measurable social and ecological added value while also mobilising private capital for this area.
In doing so, Aurum Impact sets new standards for responsible capital investment in the VC ecosystem in which impact investing is systematically designed and implemented from the perspective of an entrepreneurial family office. Particularly worthy of emphasis is its focus on impact-oriented business models seeking change in the areas of climate action, circular economy and social participation. Miki Yokoyama herself can look back on many years of investment expertise – having held roles at, among others, UVC, TechFounders and AENU. In addition, she is active in the Circular Economy Initiative of the Federation of German Industries, at 2hearts and in other networks, mentoring programmes and impact initiatives.
With his visionary leadership and integrative approach, Prof Dr Helmut Schönenberger has had a lasting impact on the innovation landscape in Germany and Europe. As the CEO of UnternehmerTUM and Vice President Entrepreneurship at Munich Technical University, he has established Europe's largest centre for innovation and business creation, which successfully connects academia with industry and capital providers. Under his leadership, deep tech and AI start-ups have been equipped with more than two billion US dollars in venture capital, making Munich one of Europe's leading locations for innovation. His comprehensive venture capital model enables capital to be allocated efficiently across all financing stages. He also promotes European networking and the global scaling of start-ups and advocates for sustainable innovation. Dr Helmut Schönenberger embodies the values he promotes: entrepreneurial courage, a long-term vision and innovation that benefits the common good. As professor and Vice President Entrepreneurship at Munich Technical University, he has institutionalised the ‘knowledge triangle’ of education, research and entrepreneurship, creating a unique bond between academic excellence and practical entrepreneurship.
Dr Jörg Goschin, CEO: “Women continue to be underrepresented in the VC market. As we are convinced that diverse teams are more successful in the long run, we will be placing a media focus on the topic of diversity with the category 'Best Female Investor' this year as well, as we will now be selecting an outstanding female VC investor for the fourth time.”
Alexander Thees: “Even if the area of impact investing is fortunately growing, the need for comprehensive solutions for the transformation of our economy remains strong. We will again be underscoring our commitment to this important segment with our award in the 'Best Impact Investor' category. In addition, we will be honouring outstanding services for the VC ecosystem as an overarching theme with this year’s special prize 'VC Game Changer'."
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 begin on April 15, 2024 and ends on July 1, 2025. Interested parties can find the online application form at: kfw-awards.de
Like last year, there will also be a special award - this year in the category VC Game Changer. The jury will acknowledge a personality who has made a special contribution to the further development of the VC ecosystem, e.g. by being a thought leader, developing new topics or launching initiatives. Unlike the fixed categories, there is no application process for this special award: Each jury member first nominates an individual and then the VC Game Changer is chosen from all the nominations.
For more information on how to participate, please see the guidelines.
Read here about the press release KfW Capital Award 2025.
A review of the KfW Capital Award 2024, 2023 and 2022 with the winners can be found on the following pages:
