Erfurt (dpa/th) – Entrepreneurs from Bad Tabarz, Gotha, Gräfenroda and Erfurt are the winners of this year’s Thuringian Founder’s Prize. The award was presented in four categories in the Thuringian state capital on Thursday. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, ten prizes totaling 71,000 euros were awarded.
The first prize in the “reasons” category, worth 6,000 euros, went to “Die Teigmacher” from Bad Tabarz. The company, which was founded last year, operates the classic baking trade without artificial additives and attaches great importance to the regionality of its suppliers.
In the “Getting Started” category, WTA Technologies GmbH in Gotha took first place, worth 10,000 euros. The company has been involved as a filtration expert for water since it was founded in August 2017, it said.
The Zwergstatt in Gräfenroda was also awarded 10,000 euros in prize money in the “Successors” category. As the last manufactory for ceramic garden gnomes in Germany, it is dedicated to the traditional production of clay figures. With the takeover last year, Helma Ortmann expanded the company into a transparent factory with a museum.
Anika Luthardt from feelslike.erfurt accepted the 10,000 euro prize in the “Initiator” category. It is said that she inspires numerous readers and followers with her digital city magazine for culture and life in Erfurt.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, 86 applications were submitted and evaluated for the competition this year. The ten best start-up projects and successful young companies were able to present themselves to a 19-strong jury. According to the information provided, the state supports start-up processes from the very first idea to a successful start-up with a wide range of funding instruments and provides around 7.5 million euros a year for this purpose. The prize money was also donated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
