Innovation and Sustainability: Presentation of the GER Business Award 2026 at the Austrian Embassy

(From left to right) Thomas Moschig, Leon Scheicher and Margit Zimmern with the winners of the GER Business Award.

On February 3, 2026, the Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C., provided the formal setting for the presentation of the GER Business Award 2026. Economic Counselor Leon Scheicher welcomed the invited guests and officially opened the evening, which was dedicated to promoting young entrepreneurial talent.

Awarded annually since 2008 and endowed with a prize of USD 2,000, the GER Business Award is a joint initiative of the German International School Washington D.C. and the German Executive Roundtable (GER), a network of German-speaking executives from the greater Washington, D.C. area. The project enables tenth-grade students to develop and present their own business concepts for fictitious companies. Through this process, students gain valuable insights into corporate management, develop professional teamwork skills, and enhance their time-management abilities. The event was further enriched by remarks from Thomas Moschig of Advantage Austria, who commended the students’ strong spirit of innovation and emphasized the importance of sustainable business thinking in shaping the future global economy.

The evening concluded with the formal presentation of the award to the winning team. The students Kaja Neumann, Freya Nighbert, Noemi Danilović, and Emma Zentrich impressed the jury with their company, “NutriCrawl.” Their concept centers on a forward-looking nutritional solution: an innovative insect-based protein powder. As a complete source of nutrients, “NutriCrawl” represents a sustainable and environmentally responsible alternative to conventional whey protein. Through their idea, the award recipients compellingly demonstrated how modern entrepreneurial thinking can contribute to addressing global resource challenges.