City Councillor Markus Frank, Head of the Economic Department of the City of Frankfurt am Main and patron of Frankfurt Forward, opened the evening: “Outstanding founders from Frankfurt am Main and the region are given the deserved stage to present their innovative and sustainable business concepts to a broad public. Ulrich Caspar, President of the IHK Frankfurt am Main, added: “FrankfurtRhineMain is an excellent location for startups. This is shown not least by the companies at today’s event. In the region, startups particularly appreciate the diversity of sectors and the short distances to investors.
The highlight of the evening was the choice of the “Startup of the Year”: for nine months, the renowned jury of Frankfurt Forward, consisting of around 30 regional decision-makers and doers, awarded outstanding startups from Frankfurt and the region the title of “Startups of the Month”. In the evening, the entrepreneurs had to show what they were made of and convince the community in live pitches. The title “Startup of the Year” was finally secured by CargoSteps GmbH & Co. KG. CargoSteps helps freight forwarders and carriers to utilize their capacities and enables cross-company shipment tracking with proactive status updates in B2B express and courier logistics. “It was a very exciting choice: the election results were extremely close. All the more reason for us to be delighted with CargoSteps and congratulate them on their election to the “Startup of the Year”, says Oliver Schwebel, Managing Director of the Frankfurt Economic Development Agency and Chairman of the Frankfurt Forward Jury.
Markus Frank, Head of the Frankfurt Forward Department of Economic Affairs, summarizes: “We are delighted to see the dynamism and charisma that Frankfurt Forward has developed over the course of a year and already have big plans as to how the project will proceed. Christian W. Jakob, Project Manager of Frankfurt Forward adds: “We have achieved what we set out to achieve: We have succeeded in duly honoring successful start-up stories in Frankfurt and creating an instrument that efficiently brings together start-ups, companies and investors. Together with all our partners, we now have to implement the right measures to meet the demands of the ecosystem”.
