German Technology Entrepreneurship Center (GTEC), Germany’s first open, private-sector platform for entrepreneurship, established at ESMT European School of Management and Technology in Berlin, has launched its first ever Blockchain Innovation Award.
GTEC founding partners RWE and Globumbus are supporting the award and will present a total of €50,000 to startups and founders working on the best innovation using blockchain technology. In addition, the award also includes an exclusive GTEC Lab membership – a 12-month, 0% equity support program for tech startups.
“Applications using blockchain technology from anywhere in the world and with any focus are welcome. Whether startup or just an idea, the sponsors are looking for the best ideas utilizing blockchain infrastructure or solving daily problems on a decentralized architecture”, GTEC said.
An Award Ceremony will be held at ESMT European School of Management and Technology in Berlin on April 7 and will feature prominent figures from the international blockchain community. Applications will be accepted until March 31, 2016. GTEC, RWE, Globumbus and blockchain experts will judge the entries.
Realizing the potential of blockchain technology to disrupt a vast range of industries, award sponsors RWE and Globumbus have made the competition industry-and-stage-agnostic, the press release said.
Energy company RWE already has a focus on blockchain-based business models through their RWE Innovation Hub.
“Through the GTEC Innovation Award, we’re looking forward to connecting with experts, startups and promising talent”, said Thomas Birr, Senior Vice President and Head of Group Strategy & Innovation, RWE AG. “Right now, we’re working on concepts for designing decentralised energy management and discussing various peer-to-peer solutions - in that, blockchain is an essential building block.”
Globumbus has been supporting bitcoin hackathons and meetups, blockchain workshops, and the Bitfilm Festival. It is also an investor in blockchain infrastructure projects, including Swarm, Bitshares, and Gems.
Globumbus founder Jens Hewald says that the GTEC Innovation Award is about, “encouraging all people interested in this technology to realize how they can make the world better; bringing tech and business together to make something happen.”
