KfW Capital Awards presented for the first time

Manon Sarah Littek is "Best Female Investor". The venture capital fund "Extantia Capital" receives the award for "Best Impact Investor".

KfW Capital, wholly owned subsidiary of Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), presented the "KfW Capital Awards" in two categories. The "Best Female Investor 2022" award went to Manon Sarah Littek, who co-founded the impact fund Green Generation Fund with serial founder Hanna Ensthaler. After an oversubscribed first closing, the fund has already raised 100 million euros from 30 female and male investors. Littek's fund specializes in food and green tech. The award winner herself also sits on the board of Upfield, the world's largest plant-based food company. Littek earned her doctorate at Freie Universität in Berlin and studied at Oxford. She subsequently served as CEO of Katjesgreenfood and managing director of DLD Ventures, among other positions.

The prize in the second category "Best Impact Investor" was awarded by the five-member jury to the venture capital fund Extantia Capital. The investor participates exclusively in startups that want to make a technological contribution to reducing CO2 emissions, according to the jury's statement. "We want to find solutions that are capable of saving 100 megatons of CO2 on a day X in the future," founder Sebastian Heitmann says of his fund. In terms of returns, Extantia is on par with conventional VC funds, he says.

With the award categories and the honorees, the KfW jury also wanted to set an example. "With the two categories chosen, we are particularly highlighting the topics of diversity/gender and impact, which are still underrepresented in the venture capital ecosystem," says KfW Capital Managing Director Jörg Goschin. "We are very pleased to have two outstanding award winners with a signal effect.