With the OUT OF THE BOX award, we support the dedication of our founders and honor the courageous and creative minds who are shaping the digital and sustainable transformation of NRW with their entrepreneurial ideas. Because we are committed to support their growth, spread their innovations and to successfully connect them with corporates as well as investors. 

OUT OF THE BOX.NRW is the most important startup competition in North Rhine-Westphalia and has become a true benchmark for other federal states. With a screening process conducted by professionals, namely the VC funds from NRW, and a public voting system, the competition offers a platform that truly stands out. It is fantastic that the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action, and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia promotes entrepreneurial spirit and that NRW.BANK supports this commitment with a substantial cash prize that goes directly to the startups without any detours. This initiative demonstrates what can be achieved when everyone works together. I am looking forward to the teams, their ideas, and an exciting finale at the Hinterland of Things in Bielefeld.

Innovations secure our future. Stagnation is not an option. One in five German start-ups with a sustainable business model is already based in North Rhine-Westphalia, driving the state’s climate-neutral transformation. The OUT OF THE BOX.NRW competition raises the visibility and awareness of precisely such start-ups and their innovative ideas and technologies.