JURY

The jury includes representatives of German development cooperation organisations, the German private sector, media and civil society.

As soon as the application period is closed, an independent expert will examine and evaluate the application documents to ascertain whether they meet the selection criteria (in terms of both content and commercial aspects). The best projects per category, up to a maximum of five each, will then be presented to the jury. The jury will reach the final decision with regard to the application documents submitted in the respective categories, the award and the associated prize money.

Jury Members 2023

Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), represented by

Benjamin Knödler is Head of the Division “Wirtschaftsnetzwerke” at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Previously, he worked in various areas of the ministry, including the Southern Africa Unit, the Office of the German Executive Director at the World Bank (Washington, D.C.), the G7 Presidency Team, at the Embassy Phnom Penh and in the Climate Policy Unit.

Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft e.V., represented by

As founder and managing director of dot-gruppe, Bernhard Longin is a pioneer in social media marketing. Since 2021, he is also Chairman of the Board of Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft e.V. Bernhard Longin started his career in the New York office of BDDP as a Carl Duisberg Scholar with a trainee programme for the clients IBM, Ford and Philip Morris. Further positions followed in publishing and consumer goods marketing management.

Matthias Kühn is graduate economist and has been managing partner of the Perfekta Unternehmensgruppe since 1989. He is a member of the General Assembly of the Hanover Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a member of the Foreign Trade Committee of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Berlin. Matthias Kühn also represents CDG e.V. as a member of the board.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, represented by

Axel Klaphake is an economist and political scientist by training and holds a PhD in Environmental Management and Planning. In his further career, he worked for research institutes, think tanks and consulting companies in Germany, USA, and Brazil. He joined GIZ in 2007 as an adviser to the Federal German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development on G8 issue and water and infrastructure development in Africa. From 2009-2017 he worked as a head of regional and bilateral programmes in Uganda and as the GIZ Country Director in Uganda and Ethiopia. He is currently heading the Division Economic and Social Development, Digitalisation in the global department at GIZ HQs.

Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V., represented by

Lara Petersen is Senior Manager sub-Sahara Africa at the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) in the department International Cooperation, Security, Raw Materials and Space Travel and coordinator of the BDI-CBC partnership project. At the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, the graduated economist and anthropologist working on her Ph.D. on entrepreneurship in East Africa. From 2011 to 2014 Lara Petersen held the position of the Manager East Africa followed by the Manager Market Research, Energy and Healthcare at the German-African Business Association.

Voith Hydro Holding GmbH & Co. KG, represented by

Heike Bergmann is Senior Vice President Sales Africa at Voith Hydro Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Heidenheim. She is responsible for sales and service activities in Africa. From 2012 to 2016, as a member of the management board she was responsible for sales, automation and service. Before joining Voith, Heike Bergmann worked for Areva Energietechnik, where she was commercial director in charge of sales activities for the systems business in Eastern Europe and later led the service business in Germany as unit manager. With a degree in industrial engineering, she began her professional career in 1996 at ABB Calor Emag Schaltanlagen AG in business development and product marketing for distribution and transmission grids.

Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), represented by

Eva Miriam Fuchs is Senior Manager Financial Institutions Africa, prior to this Financial Institutions Latin America, and Authorised Signatory at DEG (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft). In this position she is responsible for new business development, due diligence, structuring, negotiation and portfolio management of debt transactions in the region. After five years of working as an investment manager Latin America at KfW/DEG Eva Miriam Fuchs held the position of the director at the KfW representative office in Sao Paulo, Brazil from 2013 to 2018.

brand eins, represented by

Jens Bergmann is deputy editor-in-chief of the business magazine brand eins. He studied psychology and journalism and worked for various media. He is also the author of numerous books, among others on business jargon („Business Bullshit“).