Festively decorated was this Tuesday evening theCroowy, Diingu and HAPPY: Winners of the Frankfurt Founder Award are fixed Kaisersaal of the Frankfurt Römer. And that from a completely special cause: For the meanwhile 23. time the winners and winners of the Frankfurt founder price were announced. Head of the Department of Economic Affairs Stephanie Wüst, together with Ansgar Roese, Managing Director of the Frankfurt Economic Development Corporation, presented the awards to the year's winners.
A total of five young companies and their founders were up for selection that evening. They could all hope to win prize money worth a total of 30,000 euros. In the end, Croowy GmbH came out on top, followed by Diingu GmbH and the bookstore HAPPY in 2nd and 3rd place. Shabana Mailiki was awarded a special prize by the jury for her life and business coaching.
Croowy GmbH, Diingu GmbH and Bookstore HAPPY: Three different award winners on the same podium
With its business idea, Croowy GmbH has developed an innovative approach to minimize airlines' challenges in the area of crew accommodation and to optimize cooperation with hotels through a matching platform. In doing so, Croowy simplifies business initiation by standardizing and digitizing the processes behind it. This should enable airlines and hotels to overcome middlemen, costly commission payments and the associated non-transparent contracting. With their start-up, founders Leonie Godard, Svenja Büsching, Ulli Kastner and Hermann Wagner offer a model that benefits airlines and hotels alike. With their business model, they convinced the jury and were able to enjoy prize money of 12,500 euros.
The 2nd prize went to Diingu GmbH. It offers an interactive e-learning platform that focuses on school inclusion. Through its platform, Diingu provides educational expertise to social service providers. The founders see successful inclusion as their mission by empowering school companions in the best possible way to support children and young people with impairments in their social and school participation. In addition, based on research on formative educational diagnostics, they are developing a monitoring tool that analyzes and graphically depicts the social and home environment as well as the academic development of children and adolescents. For the 2nd prize, Diingu GmbH receives prize money of 10,000 euros.
The last place on the podium was secured by the bookstore HAPPY of founder Nana Agic-Kunisch. HAPPY has become a place for everyone: Families, education experts and passionate book lovers can find advice on a wide range of topics, especially encompassing the aspect of "living together." More than just a bookstore, the company is a true shopping experience for customers. The concept consists of three basic elements: read, give and enjoy. Prize money of 7,500 euros goes to the HAPPY bookstore.
Shabana Maliki: Special prize for an impressive personality
The jury awarded a special prize that evening to Shabana Maliki. Her own life story continues to drive the Afghan native to this day: She had to flee Afghanistan when she was only 15, was married in Germany a year later, and later, after separating from her husband, tried to gain a foothold in her new homeland as a single mother. Today, she stands on her own two feet and strives to help others both privately and professionally and thus achieve her own success.
In 2022, she founded the company "Shabana Maliki - Life and Business Coaching". Mailiki specializes in helping people - especially immigrant women - make changes in their lives and strengthen their individual decision-making. For the jury, this special life story and impressive personality were a decisive reason to award a special prize endowed with 1,000 euros.
Impressive and diverse ideas at the start-up location Frankfurt
Head of Economic Affairs Stephanie Wüst: "Anyone who decides to become self-employed must leave their comfort zone and, in addition to a good idea, above all bring strength and perseverance. That's why I'm always impressed when people choose this path. The large number of contest participants from so many different industries shows that we are well positioned here in Frankfurt." Councilwoman Wüst also singled out the special prize winner: "Shabana Maliki impressed the jury with her life story, but above all with her infectious courage and conviction for her idea."
"This evening has once again shown how diverse the start-up scene in Frankfurt is. Frankfurt am Main continues to be a center of attraction for committed entrepreneurs in Germany. But above all, Frankfurt is a place where ideas can grow and be realized. This is what all our award winners stand for with their very individual and impressive nature," said Managing Director Ansgar Roese.
