The KfW Capital Awards 2024 have announced their winners, recognizing significant contributions in the venture capital ecosystem. Juliane Hahn from Signature Ventures has been awarded "Best Female Investor 2024," while Xavier Sarras of 4P CAPITAL has received the title of "Best Impact Investor 2024." A new category, "Best Emerging Manager," was introduced this year and awarded to Nucleus Capital, led by Dr. Isabella Fandrych and Maximilian Schwarz. Each winner receives a prize of EUR 5,000.
The awards were presented at a ceremony in Berlin, with notable figures such as Dr. Sabine Hepperle from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Prof. Heike Hölzner from Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin, Dr. Alex von Frankenberg of HTGF, and KfW Capital's Managing Directors Dr. Jörg Goschin and Alexander Thees in attendance.
Dr. Jörg Goschin emphasized the importance of diversity and sustainability in the VC ecosystem: “The VC ecosystem continues to address the core topics of ‘gender’ and ‘impact’. The aim of the KfW Capital Awards is to honour exceptional work in these areas and underscore the relevance of ‘more diversity’ and ‘more sustainability’ to strengthen the VC ecosystem.”
Alexander Thees highlighted the need for fresh talent: “We also need new, young fund teams that want to enter the market and support innovative start-ups as funding partners."
Juliane Hahn was recognized for her role as Founding Partner at Signature Ventures, where she invests in early-stage start-ups focusing on blockchain and Web3 technologies. The jury praised her diverse team composition and impressive track record.
Xavier Sarras was acknowledged for his dedication to impact investing through 4P CAPITAL. Since selling his marketing agency in 2017, he has focused on supporting sustainable solutions with economic growth potential.
Nucleus Capital stood out as a promising emerging manager with its focus on programmable biology, food technology, and green industrials. Led by Dr. Isabella Fandrych and Maximilian Schwarz, it offers specialized investment opportunities for young VC funds.
The jurors included industry leaders such as Dr. Tanja Emmerling from HTGF Berlin, Ulrike Hinrichs from BVK, Verena Kempe from KENFO, Felix Oldenburg from gut.org gAG, among others.